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Get to Work Finding a Job – Concentrated Career Efforts Pay Off

Anyone who says the current economy has drastically impacted the job market is just wrong. For those who are willing to put in the sincere effort to find a job, providing they sincerely like to work, there’s always gainful employment to be had.

If it takes you longer than two weeks to land a truly great job, you’re doing something wrong.

Heed this handful of helpful tips and you’re sure to get your career swiftly back on track.

Think that being unemployed means you don’t have a job? Guess again. Finding work IS your job. Forget sleeping in and setting a leisurely pace. Get up early and immediately attack the job search. Devote at least eight hours a day to the process.

Have a plan. For example (and this is simply one course of action; you can certainly plot out a strategy that may be even more effective for you);

Day 1.
Get up by 6 a.m. Get online. Search your state’s Internet employment bank and job-search sites such as Career Builder and Monster.com. Make a point of applying for at least ten jobs. Take a break for lunch. Get in your car or on a bus or head out on foot and note the names of at least a dozen (hopefully more) major businesses. Not everyone is going to advertise on the web with an external service. When you get back home look up the company websites and see what positions they are hiring for. Plan to apply for at least 5 more jobs to finish out your day.

Day 2.
Perform a new online search and note the top six opportunities that look most appealing to you. Now call those businesses and get the name of the hiring party and their email address and phone number. Create a more comprehensive cover letter, something that essentially sells your expertise, and email it to the person in charge. Follow up with phone calls later in the afternoon, unless the job ad specially stated “No phone calls.”

Day 3.
Make sure you have a quality, up to date and error-free one page resume at the ready. Get nice looking copies on a professional grade paper stock and take them, door to door, to established companies that appeal to you. Make a concerted effort to get past the receptionist and at least introduce yourself to the HR director or any variety of hiring manager.

Day 4.
Follow up and follow through. Make calls or send out second emails to the top ten companies that you prefer to focus on at this time.

Day 5.
You’re likely to have at least a few interviews arranged at this point, possibly more. Make sure you schedule your appointments with significant time in between. You NEVER want to be late for an interview.

A few more points to keep in mind;

Don’t jump on the first offer. Think about the fit, your goals, the corporate structure and culture. There are many more considerations than wage in the long run. Job hopping is a waste of your time (as well as your interim employers) and ultimately it will have a negative impact on your future ability to progress effectively in your career. Make sure that the position you accept is something you’ll want to stick with for a long time, given the opportunity.

Be realistic about your worth. Don’t demand a salary that’s higher than your expertise and education would warrant, but don’t sell yourself short either. Make sure that your new salary is at least as much, preferably more, than the amount you were most recently earning.

Be honest about your needs. If you’re really uncomfortable about leaving your kids home alone past 5:30 and a job calls for service until 6, getting you home by 6:30 or even later, don’t take it. You’ll only end up resenting it and in the long run that negativity will detract from your work and create an unpleasant scenario at the office. Good companies care about the well being of their workers and will, within reason, make minor concessions to accommodate your personal needs.

Put real effort into your performance once you do accept employment. Do your best to abide by the adage that “a job worth doing is worth doing well.” Don’t be a prima donna; help out where you’re needed and drop the “it’s not my job” attitude. If you’re being paid, anything legal and reasonably moral can be your job. Get busy.

When you’re on the job, remember that the workplace is for work. If you have time to gossip, take frequent breaks, surf the net or text friends, you obviously need more to do. Let your boss know that you’d like to have more assignments. If your work is done early, offer to help with someone else’s. It’s a business, not a playground. Be a good worker bee.

There’s plenty of work to be had and a terrific supply of top-rate employers who are on the hunt for capable, conscientious professionals. If you’re the type who is enthusiastic about rolling up your shirt sleeves and getting things done, it’s likely that getting a good job won’t be too tough. Put in a good amount of effort and you’ll see some great results.

S. L. Robertson is an experienced mountain-region writer. The Northwest transplant has published hundreds of articles offering business advice as well as horse-training tips and suggestions for affordable professional fashion, just to name a few of Robertson’s areas of expertise. You can find her writing on the new blog site http://avonladyslc.blogspot.com/ as well as on the Promo.Utah business blog site ( http://promoutah.blogspot.com ).

The Internet is a great place to learn about attitude in assisting you to get that job. There are many clips on You Tube showing great examples of determined people.

These people, when faced with a challenging situation, can choose to react in many different ways. One of my favorite examples on YouTube is of a guy by the name of Donald Braswell, who entered America’s Got Talent. Donald walked onto the stage to face grumpy judges and an angry crowd. Immediately after he opened his mouth to start singing the audience rejected him. Basically the crowd was unreasonable and began to boo him, although they hadn’t given him a chance to show his singing talent.

In the face of this challenge Donald continued singing with self-belief. He’s in the moment. He knows and feels what he has practiced for. He knows this is his time and he has two choices. Give it all or give up. Donald gave his all and even managed to turn the hostile audience into fans. He didn’t give up and continued with his performance. The end result is that he impressed both the judges and the audience and made it through to the next stage of the competition.

Our attitude is our reaction to any given situation or circumstance. How would you have reacted if the crowd began to boo you? Would you have given up when it got a little difficult, or would you have found that little extra something inside of you that gets you to rise to the top? Donald’s triumph reminds me of the story about some potato farmers and it goes like this…

An Idaho potato farmer went up to North Dakota to grow potatoes. The North Dakota farmers had an agreement with the co-op to separate the potatoes into small, medium and large bins when they were sold.

The local potato farmers would hand sort their potatoes in the field and place them in separate bins so they would get top dollar for them. They sorted the small potatoes into the small bin, the medium potatoes into the medium bin and the large potatoes into the large bin.

The Idaho farmer, however, put all of his potatoes in one wagon without sorting them and headed to the co-op. The locals thought he was either lazy or stupid and they knew he wouldn’t get top dollar for his potatoes. However, to their surprise they found out that he got the same price as everyone else.

When the Idaho farmer delivered his potatoes, they were sorted like everyone else’s. But how? The difference was that while everyone else took the smooth road to the co-op, the Idaho farmer took the rough road. He took the road that no-one else was willing to take.

As his wagon traveled over the bumps and holes, the small potatoes went to the bottom of the trailer; the medium in the middle; and the large potatoes rose to the top. When he arrived at the co-op, all he had to do was unload the potatoes in the appropriate bins.

“Big potatoes always rise to the top on rough roads.”

Our attitude is our evaluation of any given situation and the reaction we take. We have the ability to choose our attitude and put new meaning to any circumstance or event.

As with the example of Donald Braswell entering America’s Got Talent, he chose the attitude of determination. Donald could have quit and blamed everything and everyone around him for his poor performance. He could have used grumpy judges as an excuse or complained about how unfair the audience had treated him.

Instead he dug deep, continued on the rough road that was presented to him and became a big potato because of it. It’s this same determination that we need when going after the job we really want. Get that job you want by first setting your attitude to self belief, then back that up with determination and action.

Do you want to learn more about how to get the job you want, first time, every time, then visit http://www.GetThatJobNow.com.au for my new ebook out now.

Vicki Thiel is known as Australia’s number one job search coach and is the author of “Get That Job Now”. Vicki teaches strategies and techniques on how to position yourself to get the job first time, every time in any economy. http://www.GetThatJobNow.com.au

When you dont have all of the training and education you need to perform your
perfect job, you want to find out where you can go in order to get the training you
need. If you already have a degree but need some additional courses, you might
want to think about taking some online courses. Depending on the field in which
you are interested, you may have to combine online and local courses or training in
order to obtain everything you need. Medical fields, for example, still require clinical
time, so you will need to arrange that in your local area.
If you are not interested in online classes, you will need to check in your local area
to discover where you can obtain the training you need for the type of job you wish
to find. For some people the perfect job is not based as much on the type of work
as on other factors such as salary and benefits. If you are one of those people it will
be easier for you to obtain the training you need than for someone who is more
interested in the position itself. Of course, if you have been working in a factor and
concluding, you want something working in an office, you will have to obtain some
training in order to do that.

If you are just beginning your career finding out the where you need to go to learn
to perform your job of choice is easier than it is for someone who has been in the
workforce and is now looking to change careers. Although career changes are not
usually that difficult, the transition is more difficult for those who have been
working for many years doing the same job. It is not impossible by any means, and
there are resources for those who are making a career change later in life.
Sometimes career changes are necessary not because you no longer feel you have
the perfect job but because of changes within your company.
If you find your job is being downsized and you must begin a new career, most
companies offer outsource training. If this does not fit into your scope of the perfect
job, you can certainly ask for more information about obtaining the training you
need to move into a new field in order to obtain the job that is perfect for you.

When you start the employment process, there are so many different factors to consider. If you have a clear job seeking plan and a set of strongly defined goals, chances are you will find work quickly and find a job that is perfectly suited to meet your own individual needs and requirements.

Finding the Right Job For You…

Before you start searching for the perfect job, you will need to consider which full time job would be most suitable for you. Firstly, consider your interests, experiences and personality type. It is best to find work that you enjoy and that you have a genuine aptitude for. By creating a connection between your interests and experience and your form of full-time employment you will be happy and fulfilled in your full time role. Employers care about experience, so make a list of your most recent work roles and define jobs that require the education and experience that you possess. If you would like to enter a new field, or if you are a recent school leaver, you may consider volunteer work to build your experience base. Alternatively, you may take on some part-time work prior to applying for full time roles in the industry of your choice.

Looking for Full Time Jobs

Before you start to look for work you will need to organize:

1. A Resume

2. A General Letter of Application

3. Character References

4. Employment References

5. Copies of Qualifications, Degrees or Certificates

There are many highly effective avenues available to help you find full-time employment. Jobsites online, such as Monster or Hays, offer a huge selection of positions available. Essentially, you will need to supply your basic contact details and have a resume ready to submit. You may make an appointment with a recruitment agency and they will screen you for potential positions. Newspapers and community notice boards always contain positions vacant. Another very common way that people find work is through their own personal connections – so tell friends and family that you are looking for full time work.

Employment Terms and Conditions

When you are considering taking a full time job you will need to consider the terms and conditions of the job offer. Basic terms and conditions will be outlined in your employment contract and should include the following particulars:

1. Pay

2. Holidays

3. Working Hours

4. Disciplinary Procedures

5. Company Policies

Before you sign an employment contract, make sure you are agreeable to the terms and conditions of employment. You should also be very clear on the expectations of the role and feel confident that you can adequately perform your duties. Think ahead, and ask about any training or promotional opportunities available within the company or business.

Legal Issues

Every workplace involves employee and employer rights and responsibilities. When you are working you have the right to be treated fairly and with respect. You have the responsibility to perform your job well and to treat others with respect. There are laws in place to ensure that discrimination and harassment do not occur in the workplace, so make sure that you are aware of these laws prior to commencing full time work.

Author Mark Woodcock is a Webmaster of a wide variety of online specialty shops including a very popular site on Full Time Jobs. Visit http://www.fulltimejobs.org.uk today.

We live in an information-hungry world that simply couldn’t function without computers. By the same token, the world can’t turn without the ‘techies’ who troubleshoot, devise creative solutions to computing problems and save our bacon when things go wrong. Quite simply, computer expertise is in demand and, if you’re technically minded, there is an information technology job somewhere out there for you.

IT employment opportunities are varied and exciting. Some jobs offer you the opportunity to be your own boss, working as an independent consultant or from home. Others allow you to work in a variety of business and allied environments. For qualified people with the right skills, this is a sector where one can make a good living, with the possibility for top rank employees and consultants to earn top level salaries.

Unless you have relevant work experience or can otherwise demonstrate your expertise, for most IT jobs today you will need to have formal qualifications of some kind. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or computer information systems is a basic requirement for most jobs in information technology. Postgraduate qualifications can be useful in some sectors of the industry. IT professionals at the top of their game can look forward to a bright future.

Within the information technology job market there are many niches, with job opportunities to suit most people’s preferences. If you’re happy to spend much of your time on your own with your computer, there are jobs in software development that should suit your temperament and test your ability to create innovate solutions.

Not all information technology jobs are solo enterprises. Many positions are people-oriented and will suit computer professionals who like their job to include interaction with others. Jobs on help desks are a good example. They will require you to have patience and people skills as well as the technical knowledge to solve the problems that crop up in the average computer user’s working day.

Many of the job descriptions in the information technology sector feature teamwork and liaison with like-minded professionals, and offer people careers with a strong management component. Lead applications developers work with teams of experts, while network managers also have a managerial role.

If you also have a particular interest in business and economics, business intelligence analysts are always in demand. The world of commerce offers a variety of niche jobs for IT professionals, ranging from the role of IT auditor, in charge of reviewing systems performance, to positions specific to particular industries.

Many IT fans are attracted to jobs related to the internet, as its role in all our lives becomes ever more important. Web developers will find many openings if they have the appropriate experience. Alternatively, for someone with computer skills and artistic flair wanting to do creative work from home, website design is the ideal job. Technical computer skills will serve you well in any job you choose, and with the right career choices and good insight into where the future lies, an information technology job can be lucrative, challenging and personally rewarding.

Looking for an information technology job? Find out more about carrying out your job search online.

Looking for a job in any field, especially for a beginner, has always been challenging – beginners have to overcome their own insecurities, at the same time that they learn to navigate the marketplace and follow promising leads. Here are some of the most important things that you can do to speed up your job search:

Prepare a good resume and cover letter

Most people do not understand the purpose of a resume – it is not to get you a job. It is the interview and subsequent meetings that will convince the prospective employer to hire you.

The resume’s main purpose is to open the door and get you that interview. But now you need to consider the employer – he or she is busy, has little time to review lots of resumes, is probably confronted with many many resumes, most of which are from people who lack the proper qualifications. So how will a resume convince the employer to call you for an interview.

The resume must stand out – there are just too many that look alike for any but the most interesting and powerful to stand out. You need to capture the employer’s attention and interest – your resume needs to make the employer feel that “this” one seems promising.

Make sure that the resume is very clear – you need to make it easy for the employer to pick out what he or she is looking for. List specific skills and experiences that you know the employer is looking for – don’t be vague!

Integrate into the resume any and all experience in the field that you are applying for that you have acquired- even if it was not. Experience in any kind of writing counts for something – and often it is the very “something” that motivates the employer to give you a call.

But simply waiting to hear from a company to which you have sent your resume is counterproductive. Here are some tips:

Use Social Contacts

It’s best to try to spread name out to as many people as possible and to let people know that you’re in the job market; this is the way many professionals find jobs, especially freelance jobs. Use your social contacts as much as possible – today, the internet also provides many ways to expand and reinforce social contacts: social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook, twitter, etc. Make sure that you have a good LinkedIn profile and an impressive resume there – then make a habit of linking to people, correspond with your links, send lots of messages, join groups and make comments or send messages.

The key is to maintain a high profile. You can try to reinforce the internet links with real meetings wherever possible.

Social networking is one of the main ways that professionals get jobs today, especially in hi-tech fields such as programming, technical writing, etc.

Be Proactive

It’s important to realize that you need to actively contact people to get a job – you can’t just send out resumes and wait. Actively contact companies that you have strong reason to suspect have a job opening, or are contemplating one. Many companies do not advertise their open positions right away – if you can contact the company before they think about advertising, you can considerably increase your chances of getting a job.

Where do you get tips about which company has a potential opening? One source is from friends who work in the company – for example, friends may tip you off about an upcoming project. You then simply contact the company directly and introduce yourself as a friend of so and so, and suggest a meeting.

Other ways of finding clues as to which companies are hiring in your field is to follow advertisements for positions that are related to your own. For example, say you are a technical writer and you discover that a software company suddenly advertises for software engineers, programmers, and other hi-tech personnel. This indicates that the company may be starting the development of a new product or product version. Now you make a good guess that the company might be under pressure to finish a lot of documentation related to the project – so you contact them and ask if they are interested in hiring a good technical writer.

Be Persistent
You can’t just say, “OK, I’ve done enough, I’ve sent 50 resumes, that’s it. You need to be persistent. Of course, some people confuse persistence with misguided obstinacy – they send out their resume to one company and then just sit and wait for one company to come through – this is like waiting for the winning lottery ticket. That kind of persistence is just a waste of time and emotional energy.

Real persistence means to keep contacting new companies – you need to keep going and never give up. When you get a “no” from a company, just go to the next one. To put yourself in the right frame of mind to do this, just tell yourself that you have to collect lots of “no’s” before you get a “yes” – every time you get a “no” you get that much closer to getting a “yes”. That’s the reverse psychology that you need to keep going. Tell yourself that if you don’t get 10 “nos” you won’t get a job; force yourself to keep contacting new places. Have confidence when you contact a potential employer – don’t sit trembling in fear, hoping to hear a “yes”. And, avoid contacting an employer again after they have rejected you. I have seen some people contact the same company again and again, as if there were no other companies to apply to. This is a mistake – a completely warped idea of what it means to be persistent.

You can considerably increase your chances of finding a job if you apply the strategies and techniques outlined in this article – be creative, open, sociable, and persistent.

Educator and sociologist Dr. Mati Schwrarcz has been training English speakers as technical writers and marcom specialists for over 17 years. Since then his graduates have become leading writers in hi-tech companies throughout the world.

YEDA Center for Technical Communications

http://www.yedacenter.com

There are many ways to find jobs, and many jobs out there that are looking to hire someone like you. The single best way of finding a job is through your social groups, and by networking socially. In fact statistically the majority of people with 100k+ jobs found them by knowing the right person who got them their job. So what is the trick? It isn’t already knowing the right person, although that helps, but instead it is meeting the right person.

Whether or not you are good at meeting new people, you can easily meet the right person to get you a job. First of all it is important to analyze the resources currently available to you. This means brainstorming anyone who might know someone else that can get you a job. Guess what? That’s probably 90% of the people you know. The other 10% are retired, and keep to themselves.

By asking your acquaintances to introduce you to people to help you find a job you will build a bigger network. Ask an acquaintance at the gym if they know anybody that has positions available in a company, or they can introduce you to anyone that may be able to point you in the right direction. If you don’t have many friends that can help, start by going to the local grocery store, and if you see someone reading a label, walk beside them and strike up conversation about the contents of the food, or anything you can think of. Then as you set a friendly tone between you and the person, ask them if they can help you find a job. If not tell them it was a pleasure, and go find someone else. By doing this you will meet more and more people, and your network will grow, and you will inevitably find a job.

If you’re not a people person then you’re not out of luck. By the inception of social networks online, you’re able to meet new friends through the internet that may be able to help you. The trick here is to start with people you know, or people that won’t be alarmed if you suddenly contact them in regards to a job. Don’t just get in touch with anyone, but join a Facebook group, or follow a twitter feed. Leave comments on other peoples pages letting any reader know what you’re looking for. The great part about doing this is that people will contact you to hire you.

Aside from being an aspiring business leader, Eric B Burke promotes great products like Western Chief Rain Boots