Job Search - 6 Tips to Boost Your Campaign
Does your job search feel like a big weight on your shoulders? Are you confused about what you should do next? Do you have starts and stops in your search activities? Are you beating yourself up because you haven't done enough? Okay, first things first. Conducting a job search can be overwhelming under the best of circumstances. Add to that a full time job, kids and/or other pressing responsibilities, and it gets even trickier. And the higher you are on the food chain, the longer it takes to find your next position. On top of all those pressures, are you making things worse by what you're telling yourself? Clients beat themselves up because they don't feel up to the task. There's too much information and they don't know where to start, so they do little and then give up. Or they berate themselves because they haven't done "enough." Time for a reality check! Here are some tips to keep it real: ? Set realistic standards and expectations. If you have locked-in time commitments (full-time job, kids, etc.), you need to be extra careful in planning your activities. Set weekly goals that you can comfortably meet. Under-promise and then, if you do more, you'll be happy with your progress. ? Learn to wait gracefully. Do you want it all now? Ahhh, if only. . . Deal with your impatience! The older I get, the more I realize the importance of being patient. Nothing happens overnight. All those folks who made it big spent years building, waiting and never giving up. Allow your career plan the time it needs to unfold. ? Have a plan. Before you take step one, what are your career goals? A new job? Positioning yourself for promotion? What's your timetable? I can't stress enough the importance of a written plan. That way you'll see the steps you need to take, can check off your accomplishments, and keep track of your progress. Remember to celebrate your wins. ? Don't put the cart before the horse. Can you compellingly and succinctly describe what you want? Don't expect people (recruiters, your networking contacts, friends, etc.) to connect the dots. Until you can easily articulate the kind of job you want and what you'd like to be doing, networking will be a wasted opportunity. ? Write a resume only after you are clear about your job goals. I get calls from prospective clients saying, "I need a new resume." After a few minutes of conversation, they admit they're unsure of their next career move. They expect a new resume to replace the pre-work they haven't done. Your resume should reflect your carefully thought out career objective. ? Find a committed listener and have them hold you accountable. You will accomplish more and feel better if you have a trusted friend to talk to on a consistent basis. This person can be a sounding board and can give you support when you hit a speed bump. We spend our lives trying to reach our goals. Yet, the time we actually spend reveling in our achievement is minimal. Aren't you always thinking about the next thing you want? By accepting that your job search is a process that happens over time, you give yourself permission to relax and enjoy what's in front of you today. Dale Kurow, M.S., is an author and a career and executive coach in NYC. Dale works with clients across the U.S. and internationally, helping them to become better managers, figure out their next career moves and thrive despite office politics. Visit Dale's web site at http://www.dalekurow.com/newsletter to sign-up for her free monthly ezine "Career Essentials," chocked full of useful career tips and strategies you can use immediately. | | | | RELATED ARTICLES 10 Keys to Getting Paid What You?re Worth! Asking for money is so taboo in our culture that most of us shake in our shoes when we think about negotiating salary. It conjures up our insecurities about not being good enough, not knowing enough, or not being considered valuable enough. We worry that the company will rescind its offer if we ask for what we're worth. Five Powerful Tips for Interns Interning is about more than earning money during summer break. It's a wonderful way to gain work experience and lay the foundation for your future career. But to get the most out of it, you have to do more than just land the job, show up for work and collect your paycheck. Here are some tips that will help you get the full benefits of interning: Changing Careers? How to Get Around the Three Major Mental Roadblocks to Success A part of you can't wait to dive into your new career -- but you're also smart enough to know that you can expect a few bumps along the road to success. By far, the biggest roadblocks exist between your own two ears! 3 Secrets to Landing a Home-Based Position Landing a telecommute position isn't easy. Finding them in the first place is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Then, when you finally do find one that looks promising, it's filled before you can even click on "apply for this job". What Recruiters Hate About Resumes And Cover Letters Today, I'm going to share with you the awful truth about resumes and cover letters. Should You Make A Career Decision Based Upon A Career Quiz? Q. I'm about to graduate High School and I don't know what I want to be "when I grow up". Do you think that a career quiz might help me decide? Career Success Through Self-Marketing Marketing shouldn't be limited to advertising companies. Finding a job or enhancing your current position requires good self-marketing skills. What is self-marketing? Basically, self-marketing is communicating your benefits to potential or current employers. Think of yourself as a "product" and explain to employers what differentiates you from other "products." 5 Tips for Customizing your Resume Gone are the days of the bland, generic one-page resume. Employers these days are more impressed by a resume that is customized and they tend to give jobs to interviewees that have a bit of knowledge about the company. Job Search Tip for College Students Today everyone is looking for that special job that will suit their exact needs. In this day and age we all have circumstances, situations, obligations, etc. that make demands on our time and energy. In most cases students will get a job that will give them enough money to pay for the fuel for their car and a few nights out, assuming they even have a night off. How to Recoup From Missing the Most Important Meeting of the Year Sometimes missing a critical meeting just can't be helped. Despite the advance planning, you just cannot make it to the meeting. Before you get out the guilt stick and beat yourself up about how stupid that was or how bad it's going to be for your career, take a step back and examine how to overcome your absence. Seven Deadly Types of Job Recruiters Collect them all! Why Become A Truck Driver? There are a great number of good reasons for someone to become a truck driver. First and foremost among those reasons would be the great pay. Did you realize that most truckers, their first year out on the road, earn an average of $35,000 a year? And, that after just a few years out, those same truckers are making an average of $45,000-$50,000 annually? And finally, veteran drivers who own their own trucks make average salaries that are over $100,000 a year. What other profession can you get into, where the pay is that good? Think Twice Before You Change Jobs You've got the itch to change jobs. This might be a good time to make the move. 7 Deadly Cover Writing Sins Don't start off your job search with one (or more) strikesagainst you by committing any of these common cover letterblunders. Each is easy to avoid, but they can sink yourchances of an interview if you include them in your letter. Identity Theft and Your Online Job Search While identity theft is nothing new, the Web has opened up whole new world of opportunity for identity thieves. How to Transform a Boring Note Into A Killer Cover Letter - Part II In Part I, we covered how to grab the reader's attention with the opening sentence. Nowwe'll get them interested, arouse desire, and get them to take action. Let's get moving. Update Your Resume Today A friend was just promoted to a position of vice-president of a company. I am happy for him and the first thing I told him after congratulations was "update your resume". 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It's time to stop worrying and start asking, but before you charge into your boss's office give yourself the best chance of success with these helpful tips?then book that meeting with the boss. Applying for a Job in Another Country? International Resumes Is an International Resume still a Resume? This is a very common question among those looking for work overseas for the first time. When you contact companies about applying for a job with them you will not often be asked for a resume, you will be asked to send along your CV. I remember the first time I was asked for my CV, I had no idea what they wanted and I couldn't seem to be able to find out, no one I knew, knew what at CV was either. Thank goodness there is the Internet now where information is easy to find! A CV is basically an international resume. CV (Curriculum Vitae) or international resume will differ from your regular run of the mill resume that you are used to writing. For example each country has different guidelines that they like to work within. Finding out these guidelines will take you much further in your international job hunt.
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