Career Related Tips newsletter

CAREER RELATED TIPS

Bryan Thorby Publisher webmaster@career-related.com http://career-related.com

Date: August 24, 2005

Welcome to This Edition

You are receiving this because you, or someone using your name and email, subscribed to

Career Related Tips Newsletter

If you feel there has been an error please click the link at the bottom of this edition to stop any future emails.

To assist my list management and to ensure you receive each edition and to lessen the possibilty of bouncing, AOL members please add my address to your address book. Hotmail and MSN please add the address to your safe list and or address book. Thanks.

Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/vote.html?pub_code=career

In This Issue:

Thoughts of the Day

Article : Career Discovery - Pinpoint Your Ideal Career By Kent Johnson

Article : Writing A Resume That Gets You Noticed By Lauren Danver

Article : How to Find the Job You Want in Less Than 14 Days! By Bryan A. Jones

Disclaimer & Privacy Statement

===========================================================

I hope all is well with you.

Last week we looked at job interview questions. One was a future plans question "Where do you see yourself in five years?" which is designed to screen people out.

If you respond with a lot of self serving stuff or give the impression of being overly ambitious you are not working in your own best interests.

It is important to keep in mind that the goal of an interview is not to show an employer how ambitious you are.

The employer is not necessarily looking for ambition.

The goal of an interview is to discover what the employer is looking for in a candidate and for you to demonstrate how you fit their criteria. Being someone who is passionate about doing a good job is a quality employers generally look for. Loyalty is a quality most employers look for. An employer wants someone who is motivated enough to accomplish their job duties, but not so ambitious that they'll get up and leave at the first opportunity.

All the best,

Bryan

Sponsor

Two great ebooks: "How to Write Impressive Resumes and Cover Letters" and "Your Guide to Job Interview Success"

Get your copies for the amazingly low figure of $13.97 (that's less than $7 each)

Both of these ebooks will improve your job search and career development.

http://career-related.com/combo.html

Thoughts of the Day

"The great thing and the hard thing is to stick to things when you have outlived the first interest, and not yet got the second, which comes with a sort of mastery. " -- Janet Erskine Stuart

"I always prefer to believe the best of everybody - it saves so much trouble." -- Rudyard Kipling

Article

Career Discovery - Pinpoint Your Ideal Career

Determine your ideal career--one that's in alignment with your values, passions, and talents--and discover the work you were born to do

Career discovery is the process by which a person identifies their ideal career path, thus saving themselves a lot of time (and money) by not pursuing career choices that they will ultimately find unfulfilling. To find your true calling, you need to dig around and find the things that are important to you--now, and in the future.

Career discovery is an important process, and one of those skills they don't really teach in high school or college. Career counselors in school mainly focus on accessing your skills and trying to match them up with the appropriate career field. This can work fine for some people, but others find that their values and beliefs change over time, and they discover that what they thought they wanted in a career when they were 20 isn't necessarily what they want when they're 40.

To find a career that fits your core beliefs, values, and skills, you really need to do an in-depth evaluation of yourself. What do you find fulfilling in life? What are your priorities? What's your "life purpose?" What motivates and interests you? What skills, knowledge and abilities to you posses? And what could you get excited about learning in the future?

Some other important considerations:

·Do you work well alone, or do you need the energy and interaction of a group of co-workers?

·Are you comfortable with the financial ups and downs that can come with self-employment, or do you need the security of a steady paycheck?

·Do you enjoy working long hours, or would you rather be in a career that allows you a lot of free time to spend with your family and friends?

·Do you like to commute long distances, or would you prefer a job close to home?

·Would you enjoy working outdoors, or are you an office rat who needs to be surrounded by four walls in order to be productive?

·Do you really want a new career, or could you make your present career acceptable with a few adjustments?

Until you can answer most of these questions satisfactorily, I wouldn't recommend finalizing your career plans. Life is short, as the old saying goes, and you don't want to waste several years traveling down a career path only to discover that you've made the wrong choice.

So do your homework, take a look inside your soul, and discover your true calling in life. Only then should you move onto the process of formulating a new career strategy.

About the author: Kent Johnson - author, publisher, career coach Helping people realize their dreams one career at a time Your Dream Career.com - your source for career tips and info ==> http://your-dream-career.com

Article

Writing A Resume That Gets You Noticed

By Lauren Danver

As the old saying goes, "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." In today’s business world, of course, that first impression usually does not come from a face-to-face conversation, but from whatever you can tell your future boss about yourself on paper: your resume.

But knowing what information to put on your resume is a challenge. You want to tell your future boss about every noteworthy thing you’ve ever done, but your future boss only has a precious few seconds to look at your resume and the countless others that pass their way. How do you create a resume that makes a first impression that counts?

Of course, there are the basic things that any employer is going to want to know:

*Job objective, telling what kind of position you are looking for *Work experience, with employers, positions, and dates listed *Formal education, with schools and degrees or certificates listed *Training and skills, really any ability that will set you apart from the rest

But in order to get beyond the boss’s circular file, you are going to need to go beyond the basics. Let’s start by talking about the forms that your resume might take.

The Chronological Resume

This is a resume where you tell your future employer what you’ve done over the course of your life that makes you the best choice for the position. The basic categories listed above form the skeleton of this resume, with lists for every school you’ve attended, job you’ve held, and training you’ve received, in chronological order.

The basic data is pretty standard. You can’t really change where you’ve worked, when you went to school, and what degrees you received (at least without risking being found out as dishonest and unethical). Where you can set yourself apart from the pack is in how you present that data.

The words you use to describe the tasks you’ve performed in a job can communicate much more about you and your capabilities than a bland description ever could. For example, using action words to describe your job tasks can say to your future boss that you are someone who can take initiative rather than someone who simply responds to circumstances.

Some examples of good, action-oriented ways of phrasing things are:

*"Implemented company business directives," rather than "followed my boss’s instructions." *"Diagnosed and corrected problem," rather than "figured out what was wrong." *"Promoted company products nationwide," rather than "went on sales trips." *"Coordinated the activities of teams of employees," rather than "received reports from different company departments."

As you present the jobs you’ve held, the degrees you’ve received, and the training you’ve acquired in your chronological resume, remember to use action words and phrases to communicate that there is more to you than just the sum of your activities.

The Skills Resume

A different type of resume with different goals, the skills resume seeks to communicate the capabilities you bring to a job rather than what training and experience you have. The best course to take here is to show yourself in the best possible light.

The main sections of a skills resume are:

*Position: the job for which you are applying. *Skills and Abilities: the traits and skills you have that make you the person for the job. *Education and Training: the short version of your formal education and/or training for the job. *Other: anything and everything that makes you stand out from the rest.

Sometimes, you may have traits that you consider negative, but that can be framed in a positive way for your future boss. Character traits that are complete opposites of one another can both be portrayed as positives. For example, do you think you’re "pushy"? In your skills resume, put that you are "assertive". Are you a "push over"? In your skills resume, put that you are "easy to work with".

But even more than discussing character traits, a skills resume tells your prospective employer what you think your best qualities are and why you should be given the job. The keys to this are identifying your most important skills and giving examples of how you’ve used them in the workplace.

These descriptions should always be kept short and simple. Remember, your future boss only has a few seconds to size you up. A short sentence that communicates the basic facts is far more important and helpful than a paragraph that gives every single detail of the story.

If you can think of positive ways of looking at the things you’ve accomplished in your life, there is no reason that you cannot communicate those things in exciting ways! Even if you don’t think your life has been all that thrilling, you can definitely make it sound that way by using the right words and phrases. The right words can make the qualifications you have sound absolutely indispensable to your future boss and can serve to draw their attention to the areas in your experience and character that will make you the obvious person for that position.

About the author: Lauren Danver worked as a Human Resources Manager for over ten years. She is the owner and webmaster of <a href="http://www.resumeservice.biz">ResumeService.Biz</a>

Article

How to Find the Job You Want in Less Than 14 Days!

By Bryan A. Jones

There is a great market for temporary employees, especially in the U.S. If you are currently unemployed then a temporary service may be a positive step in the right direction. Many of the major temp services have contracts with large corporations. These corporations would rather pay a temp service a nominal fee for temporary employees rather than hire new, permanent employees directly.

Many people do not understand that an employee is a high cost for a company. Along with the salary a company pays to an employee there are other costs such as federal, state and local taxes (beyond what the employee pays); health benefits, retirement benefits, workman’s compensation and other employee-associated costs. This can be very expensive for a company and its one of the reasons you see lay-offs and downsizing today. Generally an employee costs about 2.5 times their salary. So a corporation will contract with a temp agency and the temp agency, rather than the corporation, will pay all of those costs.

Now you can use these facts to your advantage and I have done this two times in my career. Temporary agencies do a lot of advertising for open positions and there are even unadvertised positions they have as well. After you get pre-qualified with the agency they will send you on interviews with companies looking for your skills. This is the time you need to begin evaluating your future. You need to ask questions such as:

"Would I like to permanently work for this company?"

"Does this company have the kind of jobs/positions I am looking for?"

These are very important questions. If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions then do your best to "get in the door." The job interview the temp agency referred you to may not be the dream job you’re looking for, but it may be the next step towards the job you want. You would be surprised how far you can go once you are inside a company.

Getting to know people and understanding the culture of the company can help you find your dream job. This can be virtually impossible sometimes from the outside. For example, many open positions within a company are not posted to the outside public. Because you’re on the inside you now know what’s available before anyone else. You are still an "outsider" because you work for the temp agency but you have "inside" information. This is the time to start applying for those open positions before anyone else does.

Temporary agencies are a goldmine if you know how to use them. I have learned new industries and gained valuable skills and experience using this technique.

I encourage you to give it a try.

About the author: Bryan Jones is the author of a highly acclaimed book, "You're Hired! How to Find the Job You Want in Less Than 14 Days!" This book is available at

www.TheHonestBusinessman.com/14days

Disclaimer and Privacy Statement

I accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within the

Career Related Tips newsletter

And, although all of the articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles within this newsletter does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles.

Be responsible! Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer.

I respect the privacy of my readers. I will NEVER supply or sell your personal information to any Third Party!

Contact

Bryan Thorby Marton, New Zealand webmaster@career-related.com

http://career-related.com Career advice, information and resources Career Resource Directory http://career-related.com/lma/directory/ Career Blogs http://career-related.com/blog

http://search-for-jobs.com Job Search resources to assist you in finding a great job.

http://www.home-business-and-marketing.com Home business options, Home business training and marketing, Resource Directory, resources, ebooks, software

http://mini-site-mastery.com Learn how to create and profit from Mini Sites with the 4 CD audio training program Mini Site Mastery.

http://ebooks-to-succeed.com eBook and Software membership site. Large collection of resell rights ebooks and software products. Business opportunity packages.

http://www.oneworldbiz.net Niche Market products and resources.

© Copyright 2004 - 2005 All Rights Reserved CAREER-RELATED.COM