Myths And Misconceptions About Job Hunting

In order to conduct an effective job search, you have to know what you are looking for, why you are looking and how to go about it. There are a few common myths and misconceptions to be aware of so your job hunt stays on the right path.

o After college, jobs come easily: You should never expect that you will get job offers immediately after you graduate. It will take time for you to find a good job. The fact is that some people will be lucky while others will have to wait longer. You need to have patience - on average, finding a suitable job takes 3-4 months. Don't waste your time simply waiting. Until you find a good job, try working in a smaller one, at least part-time. It may not pay you as much, but it will at least keep you occupied.

o Putting your resume on the Internet means more offers: This is not always true. Think about what recruiters must be going through. They get more than a hundred resumes everyday, and it is definitely not possible for them to consider each and every one of them. The best advice here is to personalize your resume to meet the requirements of each job that you apply to.

o Classified ads make up the majority of job openings: Agreed - ads in the newspapers and on the Internet do make up a good deal of job openings, but not all of them. The jobs that offer a big position and a huge salary are usually not advertised everywhere. This calls for some savvy networking. Try to approach companies even if there is no opening advertised, and don't forget to leave your resume with them. If there is an opening, be being proactive, you may receive a call for an interview.

o Job-hopping is bad: This is a very popular misconception that everyone seems to believe. Though this used to be a fact some years ago, but now the mindset of the average employer has changed. Changing jobs frequently was once viewed as instability in character. But now it is okay to change your job after a year, as this now indicates your ambition to learn and advance in your career.

o If you're over 50, it's over: This issue can never pose as a problem as long as you have the proper education, relevant experience and the right attitude. Having the right attitude means being open to new ideas, team spirit and contributing to the company.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online (http://www.sixsigmaonline.org) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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Career Change Tips - The Informational Interview!

As you contemplate a possible career change you'll find the informational interview to be invaluable. Properly done it should open up avenues of required study, how to gain appropriate experience, the pluses and minuses of the possible career, where the jobs are, and future prospects for the career.

Proper planning for the informational interview is the key to getting the most out of the contact. There is however, one thing you never do in an informational interview. You do not ask for a job, the informational interview is to acquire information.

You've checked with your alumni association, local and national career associations, used LinkedIn, all to find a dozen or more individuals who are currently working in the desired career.

If they live in your area, you'll be looking for a short (15 minutes or so) face to face interview. Otherwise a phone interview should be sufficient. Again, to emphasize, you are looking for information, you should not bring up anything about looking for a job.

If you handle yourself properly, the person you interview may volunteer information about available jobs-but that is not the primary purpose of the interview.

Here are some suggested interview questions, and depending on the proposed career, you should be able to add to the list:

1. What are the typical challenges in the job?

2. What do you like the most about the job, the least? Why?

3. Are there any educational requirements for the job?

4. Any surprises in the job when you started, how about now?

5. Any idea about salary ranges to start? 3-5 years experience?

6. How has the career changed over the last few years?

7. What do you see changing in the career over the next few years?

8. Is the career integrated into a career ladder? What is the next job up the ladder? What are the prospects of moving up?

9. What are the key qualifications for the career? What specifically are employer's looking for?

10. (Briefly review your education and experience.) What do you think I need relating to added education and experience to qualify for a position in the field? (Try to get specific answers.)

11. Who else can I talk to regarding this career and this field? May I use you name in contacting them?

Some additional informational interview ideas: Write out your proposed questions. As you progress through you list of interviews you can edit the list of questions and add those that will help you gain additional information.

Take notes during the interview. If you promise some additional information or you agree to added follow-up be sure to do as promised. Promptly send an appropriate thank you letter.

If the interview is in person have a copy of your resume with you. If asked you'll have a copy to provide your contact. Leave or send some personal business cards to your contact to ensure they can pass them along if they uncover some job leads.

Finally, promise to keep them informed as you progress in you hunt for the right career and the right job.

Discover how an informational interview can get you started in a career change. Learn how to make a career change after 50, or before, using an informational interview. Go to http://careersafter50.com . Learn specific information from others who have used the informational interview to find the right career even after 50.

New Ways to Brag About Yourself While Job Hunting

The web is constantly changing, we all know that. What most of us don't do is change with it. You need to go further than just sending in resumes if you want to compete for jobs. There are now plenty of new ways to promote yourself. For one, networking has gone online. Join social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Next, talk about yourself. If you're not telling people how awesome you are, no one else will. Brag it up. Here are some ideas on how to use new media.

Blog It

Once again, BRAG. You need to toot your own horn. Get started by blogging about yourself and your job experience. Make yourself interesting. It doesn't need to be all in one post. Make several posts. And this is a great format to go beyond the resume and cover letter. Include information that is generally left off of resumes. I once interviewed for a job at a HUGE email company. Turns out I got an interview not from what my resume said, but because I had lived somewhere the interviewee's best friend had once lived. Random? Yes. Did I care? No. The point is, you never know what about you is going to spark that employer to give you a call for an interview. Talk about travel, random jobs, or volunteer experience. Some rules to stick to: stay away from obscene topics, try not to be offensive. Think of it as a first date. Don't discuss politics, religion or past relationships.

Twitter

Love it. Set up a Twitter account, after all it's free. Start following job posters, job advice gurus and online resume builders. (*wink wink*) Create lists of job posters and go through their job postings daily to see what job offerings are out there. Listen to the advice of the gurus. You could learn something new that could be the key to your next interview. The great thing about Twitter is that it is a community. Most people are pretty supportive of you. Don't be afraid to let people know you're looking for a new job. If you have a personal Twitter account, make sure you are keeping things PC while you are job hunting. You may need to go through and clean up some old posts.

URL

Get your name as a website address and upload your resume. Don't do anything fancy like adding music. (Unless of course you're an unemployed musician or related field.) This is a great way to brand yourself. Another idea is to add a link to "other jobs" if you're resume does not list all your job experience. It is O.K. as well to upload a picture of yourself. Always play it safe. If you question whether or not it's appropriate, it probably isn't. Add the URL to your email signature or business cards. If you're out a networking meeting and pass out your business card, it will be easy for others to look up your resume for potential job openings.

Don't forget it's easy to update your resume at CreateBetterResumes.com. You can download your resume in multiple formats for easy upload to your new website. If you're still unsure of how to get started there are tons of great books out there you can get on promoting yourself online. The best thing to do is to just get started.

Rebekah Cockrell is a Community and Marketing Manager for http://www.CreateBetterResumes.com. http://www.CreateBetterResumes.com was founded with the purpose of making it easy for everyone to have a compelling results driven resume using our signature phrase building technology.

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A Realistic Look at Career Change

There are, of course, a couple of problems with looking to change jobs when you are already in one.

o You don't have a lot of time! Looking for a job means preparing a resume, scheduling interviews, and on and on.

o You don't want your current employer to find out! Most of us don't want our current managers to know that we are on the hunt for a new job, for fear of repercussions.

o No time for training. A really big career leap might mean that you need to undergo a whole new training regime for the new job. Many people just can't handle the commitment or the time.

o What about money? If you do have to go back to school in order to train for a new career, where is the money going to come from? Not only will you have to pay for the courses, but you still have to support yourself. The more you have to pay for (mortgage, children, and car), the more you have to worry about in terms of money.

Plan Ahead; Maybe WAY Ahead

In generations past, people were stuck in a career their entire lives for just the reasons that we mentioned above; there was just no getting around the difficulties involved with a career change, no matter how unhappy one was with their current situation.

The Information Age has absolutely changed the way we think about careers and career training, however. The biggest advantage for anyone interested in a career change is that you now have the opportunity to take courses online, from your own home.

What are the advantages to career training in this way? Here are a few.

o Set your own pace. You don't have to worry about committing to two, three, or more years of school all in a row. You can take a couple of courses a semester and plan on finishing up in five, six, or more years instead.

o You don't pay all at once. Not only do you avoid the stress of taking all of those courses at once, you also avoid the expenses. It is a lot easier to work the courses into your budget this way.

o It is not a huge time commitment all at once. If you do have a family this is the perfect training solution. You will still have plenty of time in your day to spend with them; one course should take about five hours a week, and that's it. Pretty manageable in most people's lives!

For people interested in a career change but who do not immediately have to worry about switching, forming a long term plan around online education can be a great step. By training a little bit at a time, you will be ready to make a smooth transition into the new career when you are ready.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

How to Revive the Job Hunt When it Takes a Downward Spiral

You've devoted years of your life to a company that just dismissed you without looking back. You feel rejected, lost, and depressed. The depression continues once you start looking for new employment only to find months have passed and still nothing. It's time to stop the insanity and ask yourself what you need to change or what more could you be doing. You need to learn the in's and out's of the job hunt and understand that things aren't done the same way the were 5, 8 or 10 years ago. The competition is tough and companies are looking to hire folks whose skills are well rounded to save themselves some bucks. You need to make yourself more marketable, and you'll learn how to do it here.

You need to start with your resume. If it's been some time since you've had to utilize one, then it's best advised to use a professional career advisor to assist you in creating a new one. Depending on your specialty area, your resume should fit the job and not have any fluff that you once thought was impressive. Begin with a career goal and forgo the objective. Many times objectives don't fit the job, but career goals are more broad and can show a potential employer what your plans are.

Next, you need to begin networking and marketing yourself in creative ways. Yes, contact anyone and everyone you know that you're looking for employment and the skills you have- try to get referrals. But go a step further- create profiles on social networking sites where you can truly sell yourself. Share your skills and expertise including all projects that were successful in depicting your level of talent. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are great places to get the word out and find information on possible job openings. Word of caution: Keep the information you post on these sites strictly in a professional manner. More and more businesses are doing further background checks of potential hires on these sites. You don't want anything you post to keep you from getting employed.

You may also want to consider employing the services of career specialists and job coaches. You can find many reputable sites online that can assist you in your job hunt. We have some of the best sites where you can find job postings, resume/career advice, job/salary trends, relocation suggestions, and more. These types of sites are more than useful to folks new to the job market as well as seasoned veterans. You can also consider visiting your local Labor Department where they will assist you in resume and cover letter writing, and may even suggest employment agencies that can bring you together with companies that need employees with your skills.

If you're a recent college graduate or active alumni of your college, old professors and college staff often have their finger on the pulse of your specialized industry. They have unlimited resources/knowledge of the market and know of local job trends. If the have instructed you first hand and have maintained a relationship with you, they can be the ultimate resource to utilize in your job hunt.

Many times, if the job hunt has become stagnant and you aren't receiving many calls for interviews, it's only because you need to change a few things. Know one knows better than we how stressful it is looking for employment. These simple suggestions can make the stress a bit more bearable and may just get you a job sooner than you think.

Becky has been writing as a non-biased professional for Financejobz.com providing the lastest news and information that pertains to the finance and accounting employment world. The creators feel that her inexperience ensures that all her pieces are vastly researched and informative. They provide the reader with a full understanding of the content, without compromising the professionalism.