I want to get a job.
Getting a job is a job. It requires that you first do a self-assessment, then develop and strategize the use of some key job search skills. Furthermore, it requires that you maintain an attitude off enthusiasm and belief in your value to the organization. The more time and effort you expend, the less time you will probably remain unemployed. It is a challenging task that usually includes:
Self-Assessment
----------- Clarifying Your Skills ------------
Correctly identifying your skills and matching them to appropriate job openings lays the groundwork for a successful job search. Be honest with yourself. Wanting a particular job is not enough to get it. So many people may not be totally clear about what their skills are, lose focus and apply for positions for which they lack key skills, or fail to effectively communicate their skills to the employer.
There are three different types of skills which you must consider and identify: Technical skills, “soft skills”, and transferable skills. Technical skills are the skills required to accomplish the job, such as, typing, counseling, teaching, programming, knowledge of Cisco, etc. Technical skills are the knowledge and procedures for which you received training and education. Soft skills refer to personality traits, attitude, and habits, interpersonal skills, language skills, and work strategies that are required to successfully function in the job. Soft-skills include: verbal communication, team work, manners, self-discipline, confidence, friendliness, optimism, work ethic, problem solving, organization, planning, etc. Transferable skills may be technical, soft skills or abilities. Transferable skills are any skill that you can use in all or a number of different occupations.
All of these skills are the product you are selling to the employer. As in any business arrangement, the employer won't buy if you don't have what the employer needs or wants.
In 1990, the Secretary of Labor appointed a commission to determine the skills people need to succeed in work. The commission's fundamental purpose was to encourage a high-performance economy characterized by high-skill, high-wage employment. Although the commission completed its work in 1992, its findings and recommendations continue to be a valuable source of information for individuals and organizations involved in education and workforce development. ( http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/ )
While your occupation most likely requires some industry specific technical skills, SCANS provide a good overall measure of what is required in all professions (to a greater or lesser degree). You should assess your skills in all these areas (in your resume and interviews) and you should develop your skills in the areas you are lacking. Furthermore, in discussing your qualifications with employers, you should refer to your strengths in these areas :
Workplace Competencies - Effective workers can productively use:
> Resources - Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates resources.
> Interpersonal - Works with others.
> Information - Acquires and uses information.
> Systems - Understands complex inter-relationships.
> Technology - Works with a variety of technologies.
Foundation Skills – Competent workers need:
> Basic skills - Reads, writes, performs arithmetic and mathematical operations, listens, and speaks.
> Thinking skills - Thinks creatively, makes decisions, solves problems, visualizes, knows how to learn and reason.
> Personal qualities - Displays responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity and honesty.
The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) (1991, June).
The web sites listed below have inventories to summarize your skills, in the format of the SCANS. In addition, I refer you to the self-exploration section of this website and the resources located in that section, in order to clarify your skills.
http://online.onetcenter.org/skills/
http://www.acinet.org/acinet/skills_home.asp
----------- Evaluating Your Strengths And Weaknesses ------------
While two people may have the same skills, they may differ in what they do best. You may be very good at some skills and need improvement in others. The reasons why you need to assess the quality of your skills, are the following:
Matching yourself to a job that requires your strengths is more likely to result in your success. You should use your strengths to guide your decision to pursue an occupation and a particular job.
To take on a job that demands significant use of your weaknesses will ensure that you and your employer become very dissatisfied very quickly.
Clarity about your strengths and weaknesses is a sign of maturity, self-knowledge, and a drive towards self-development. These are all qualities employers like to see during an interview.
Finally, you are likely to be asked this question on the interview.
What do we mean by strengths and weaknesses ? One part of it is the technical skills you do best, but another part is your soft-skills and personal qualities. The SCANS skills discussed above include most of the soft-skills and transferable skills you should focus on to assess your strengths and weaknesses.
Identify three technical skills you do best and three soft-skills that are your best. Then identify one technical skill and one soft-skill you should work on developing or strengthening for your occupation.
http://content.monstertrak.monster.com/resources/archive/jobhunt/softskills/
Job Search Skills
----------- Uncovering job openings ------------
There are several traditional ways to locate job openings as well as new approaches created through the internet. All of these will locate a certain percentage of available jobs. You can utilize all of these methods or selectively strategize based on your profession and the amount of time you have to devote.
> Classified ads
> Employment offices
> Company websites
> Internet job banks and job search engines
> Job fairs
> Help Wanted Signs
> Cold calling
> Unsolicited resumes
> Networking
> Online posting of your resume
Look for opportunities , not just job openings. Research indicates that only 11% of available jobs at a given time are advertised. Most job are filled through networks of personal and professional contacts or “in-house” by reassignment. Therefore, no job search is complete without the final four strategies, collectively referred to as the hidden job market .
Using the Internet:
> Company websites
> Internet job banks
> Job search engines
> Online posting of your resume
There are many web sites that offer job listings and help for job seekers.Links to Internet sites for the job search process. Some focus on assisting a particular group of people like women, minorities, or particular professions. Almost all job websites allow you to submit an electronic resume. They may match it against the database, or recruiters may use the site to find résumés that match their needs. Professional organizations often have job listing services for their members.
Finally, you can go to the websites pf a particular company, who is likely to hire people in your profession. If you don't have the web address for a company, try using a search engine like, “Google”. If you need to find appropriate companies, you can use the website below which enables you to search for companies in a particular industry.
Utilizing computers and the internet
----------- Advertising Yourself ------------
You don't always have to go to where the jobs are—you can help the employers find you.
Many people are creating their own Web pages to serve as dynamic résumé. There are services that will prepare a site for you, but if you learn basic HTML you can easily put together a site that better expresses your individuality. Recruiters using search engines will be able to find your resume if you include keywords that match common descriptions of the job(s) you seek. However, your resume will probably get more exposure if you post it on dedicated job sites.
Filling out job applications
As with resumes and cover letters, a job application is a sample of your work. You want it to communicate that you come prepared with the answers, can follow instructions, can write legibly and can use proper English. The first step is to collect all the required information by filling out a good sample job application. Bring it with you to the interview just in case they ask you to fill it out then. It demonstrates that you come prepared. The following rules apply when filling out application:
> Be neat
> Don't leave blanks- use n/a if the section does not apply
> Spelling counts
Writing a resume
The goal of the resume is to communicate specific information about your qualifications for the job opening. You're resume is what many employment specialists call, your “calling card”. You need it to open doors. It is usually the first impression of you that the employer gets. It is, in and of itself, a sample of your work. In other words, it should be treated as if it were your first work assignment.
A couple of important points about what employers do should be considered. Research shows that an employer is going to spend an average of 20 sec. looking at each resume because most advertised job opening result in 100-1000 resumes (Rockport Institute). It is recommended that you take the point of view of the employer and make it easy for them to see your RELEVANT qualifications, as soon as possible, and as briefly as possible.
You must be confident that it reflects attention to detail. No employer should see it until it has been proofread by someone else and corrected. In short, it must provide relevant information in a format which answers the question of your qualifications and history in a well organized, brief, easy to read, error-free document.
If you have any question of what to include you should answer it by asking, “What are the qualifications for this particular job and does it relate?” If the answer is “NO”, do not include it. If you're left with very little to include, then you should not waste your time and the employers time applying for the position.
There are several ways to structure your resume. We will help you through constructing the most common type of resume for all industries, the reverse-order chronological resume. We will refer you to other sites so that you can learn the other types of resume structures, if you wish. Whatever the format, the first task in creating a resume is gathering and organizing the necessary information.
The information you need to gather includes:
Your name
Address
Telephone number
Email address
Employer/company names and department
City/state
Job title
Responsibilities
Start and end dates (month and year)
Highest degree completed – HS, GED, AS, BA
Special training
City/state of school
Completion date
Relevant skills
Credentials licenses and certificates
Honors or awards
Click here for a form to collect this information on.
You will see that we ask you to put your last job first and then work backward. List all your jobs within the last 10 years, unless you have been at the last job for ten years. In that case just list the last 3-5 jobs.
http://www.acinet.org/acinet/resume/resume_intro.asp
Writing cover letters
Everything said about resumes is equally true about cover letters regarding their role in the job hunting process. The objective of the letter is to get you an interview. It is your calling card. It is your first work sample. However, the resume is primarily a listing of facts, while the letter is narrative. It should bring the more personal you to the process and convey your attitude.
> You introduce yourself to the employer.
> You should state how you heard about the position.
> You can state why you are interested in the position.
> You should highlight why you know you are qualified.
> You should close with some affirmative statement of the next step. If it is not a response to an classified ad, indicate that you will be following-up, how and when.
The Riley Guide provides some insight on preparing and posting your resume and cover letter.
JobStar Central offers tips on choosing the best resume for you, sample resumes and cover letters, selected resume resources, and more.
CareerLab's Cover Letter Library offers suggestions on how to organize and compose a winning cover letter as well as tips on how to secure an interview with a prospective employer. Though a membership fee in necessary to unlock and view all sample cover letters, there is plenty of 'free advice' found at this site.
Researching company information
Interviewing
The primary role of the interview is interpersonal. While information will be part of the content, the agenda is “Do I like this person?” and “Will he/she fit in with my organization?”
Writing follow-up “thank you” letters
While a follow-up letter is not always necessary in all professions, it will never hurt you. It is:
> a way to show respect
> demonstrate that you have knowledge of business protocol
> reinforce your continued interest in the position after the interview
> highlight what your special skills are
> clarify something from the interview
Using Internships, Temporary Jobs and Volunteer Experiences
The first question most employers have is, “Do you have any experience?” This is the eternal challenge for those entering the work world or changing careers. The only way to get past that obstacle is seeking a work experience.
Having an internship, volunteer or part-time work experience in the field of your education or training has so many benefits. As mentioned in the career exploration section, it is crucial to testing out ones career decision. For the job search, the benefits are numerous and include: (1) real hands-on experience applying the textbook knowledge, that you can bring to your first job, (2) a better understanding of the work environment for selecting the actual position you prefer, (3) a frame of reference and familiarity with the organizational culture to better structure your resume and answer interview questions, (4) having a stronger resume that includes work experience, (5) developing professional references, and (finally and most desirable) (6) the potential opportunity to get your first job offer. Many employers utilize the internships and part-time employees as a way to try out, train, and screen potential employees. You have the advantage of being an insider who is already partially trained.
Making professional contacts: Every individual you contact in the course of your workday could someday help you find a job. You need to keep that in mind when you are employed, so that they are available to you when you are unemployed or when you want to move to a better job. In a sense, you are always interviewing for a job. The impression you make of your competence and value as a co-worker is always important. Many successful people got their job offers when they were employed or can recall getting such offers because they impressed another employer who they were doing business with on behalf of their company.
----------- Getting Salary Information ------------
Salary is one of the trickiest issues in any job interview. To prepare yourself to make a realistic salary demand (or to evaluate an employer's offer), you should consult recent surveys of salaries in the computer field. There are a number of Web sites that can provide useful salary information:
The Riley Guide has pointers to salary surveys at www.rileyguide.com/salguides.html . These resources include the JobStar Salary Surveys (focusing on Northern California), and for national figures, the Wall Street Journal 's CareerJournal ( careerjournal.com ), which includes the occupational profiles and salary charts from the National Business Employment Weekly .
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at www.bls.gov has government surveys on employment and wages.
Salaries must be viewed in relationship to the cost of living in a given city or region. Career Builder ( www.careerbuilder.com ) has an online calculator that can be used to figure out the comparative cost of living in many U.S. and foreign cities.
Developing soft-skills
The value of developing your soft-skills can not be understated. Given two people applying for a job with the same skills, an employer will always hire the one with better interpersonal and personal qualities. In fact, in many cases they will hire someone with less technical skills if they have better soft-skills.