Thanks to the folks at www.careerswiki.com for this informative Infographic on how to choose your career.
by guest blogger, Swati Srivastava with some advice that’s particularly useful for a first time job seeker and a good reminder to us all…
Congratulations! You’ve made the decision to apply for a job. The competitive corporate world awaits. It’s exciting, isn’t it?
However, are you ready with a plan that ensures a smooth job search process? This, indeed, requires a proper strategy and planning to get the desired results.
Here are some useful tips to prepare for your job search:
Analyze your career goals
To begin with, analyze what you want to do and have clear expectations in your own mind. Ask yourself what is your career goal, what kind of work gains your interest or can give you an opportunity to make the most of your knowledge. Figure out and start planning based on this. If you have no idea about it, don’t worry. Nothing is permanent and you can learn many things from a role, which may help you to understand your skills and interests later on.
Another way is to think deeply about what work role would make you happy or is close to your career objective. A little time spent on these questions can help ensure you apply for roles that are right for you.
Build your resume
A good resume is required when you apply for a job opening. It is vital as an employer gets the first impression about you, based on this important document. Hence, the next step is to work on your resume, present important information relating to your experience, accomplishments, education and internships.
Always remember to customize your resume for different roles and organizations. Read the job description carefully and include important keywords to help your resume get through the recruiter’s scanning process. And last but not least, proofread and organize it with the right formatting.
Create an online presence
Today, creating an online presence is vital, especially for your job search. Whatever industry you choose to work in, hiring managers might search you online to find out more about you other than what is mentioned in the resume. The simple reason being, they want to see the real you!
Consider creating accounts on professional networking sites like LinkedIn and other online platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These online platforms provide you with an opportunity to highlight your work, blogs, achievements, and interact with more people.
Build a Network
Career networking plays a crucial role in finding new job opportunities. It is one of the emerging ways to expand your connections across the globe and explore hidden job opportunities.
It’s also a convenient way to stay connected with your friends, alumni and to let them know what you are looking for as you start your job search. You never know who in your network can refer you a job
Prepare for your interviews!
Now, once you have your resume ready along with a clear strategy for job hunting, it is the right time to prepare for your job interview. As recruiters may call you anytime to appear for the face-to-face interview, it is advisable to prepare for this stage as well.
Be patient
This one is important. You might have great expectations from your job search and want immediate results, but it is imperative to remain patient. Remember, rejections, competing and preparation are all part of the process to achieve success.
It’s time to get started.
Good Luck.
About the Author:
Swati Srivastava is an avid writer who loves to pen down her ideas and professional tips for job search, finding your career goal, and working abroad. Currently she is working for Naukrigulf.com. Reach her on LinkedIn/Twitter/G+.
by Karen Adamedes
Go for a walk.
Breath in some fresh air.
Talk to someone.
Ring someone.
Yoga.
Find some colleagues to eat with.
Read a book.
Find out where everyone else in the office is hanging out.
Go shopping (a personal favorite).
You get the idea.
Take a break from work.
Whatever you do – don’t keep working at your desk while you eat.
You need a break.
Your eyes need a break from the screen.
And you need a break from the work.
I often find that when I step away from my desk an answer I’ve been struggling with comes to mind. Or I think of a different way to tackle what I’m working on.
There’s plenty of scientific evidence that breaks are good for you. From my experience they are vital to do my best work.
And they really do avoid crumbs in the keyboard!
Have a good week (and a nice lunch)…
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Still deciding on your career goals for 2017?
Or at a career crossroad with a couple of viable options?
Or perhaps dealing with a not-so good set of choices – like what to do about working for a boss you don’t really like?
Big decisions about your career can be tricky and often harder to make than the 100 decisions you make every day as part of your job.
There are numerous options:
Seek counsel from your mentor, manager, friends, family or colleagues.
Gather more information to help make your decision.
Weigh up the pros and cons of each alternative.
Go with the lowest risk or highest reward outcome.
Look at the worst-case scenarios.
Think about the longer term implications.
Another is to procrastinate and not actually make a decision. This can seem to avoid making a wrong decision but this ‘head-in-the-sand’ approach can have worse consequences than one of your choices and is not going to resolve your issue (so is not actually on the list of recommendations).
There are lots of options (except that last one) to help you make a decision.
Try this:
One that I have found particularly effective is to look to the past for how I have made good decisions i.e. ones that worked out well!
And look at how I made those decisions and whether that thinking can help me with my current issue.
I’ve learnt that decisions work out best for me when I’ve got enough information, asked for some input from people I trust and then taken some time to think – and get in touch with what I really wanted.
When I think about about some good decisions I’ve made I can remember exactly where I was when I made them – the car and shower feature heavily in these memories.
I’ve made some crap decisions too…and these also have common traits …when I chose what I thought was the sensible decision, or what I thought I needed to do. But they weren’t what I really wanted. Gut feeling I suppose you could call it, features in my good decision making.
It’s up to you.
Talk to the people you need, get their opinions, gather as much information as you need.
And also consider how you are going to make your choice.
Whatever you decide – it’s your decision.
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