Bathjobs

posted by Admin on Jul 25

The job search process involves a lot of planning and attention to detail, so its no wonder that many people quickly feel overwhelmed and even a bit out of control. The best way to avoid this is to organize your job search so that you have a clear strategy outline and a structured schedule to keep you moving forward.

Outline your strategy

Start by creating an outline of your job search strategy. List the tactics you intend to use, and the amount of time you will devote to each tactic. A typical list might include the following:

Network with contacts
Search online job sites
Search newspaper ads

Some employment experts say that less than 20% of all jobs are found through the newspaper or online, with the other 80% found through networking. Knowing this, decide how much time you are going to devote to your job search, then allocate that time accordingly.

Define the steps

Next, for each tactic create a list of the steps involved. Here is what this might look like for the Network with contacts tactic:

Call the contact
Ask to meet for 30 minutes to get their feedback and suggestions on your resume as well as your job search strategy
Confirm the date, time and location of the appointment
Meet with contact, taking notes on the conversation and collecting one or two referrals to other contacts you might meet with
Follow up meeting with a thank you note
Check back with contact after one to two months if you are still searching for a job

Once you have the steps listed, you will have created a checklist for yourself to help make sure you complete each step along the way.

Create a schedule

Now create a schedule of daily activities so that you are doing something with your search each day. A basic schedule might look like this:

Morning

- Call two contacts to set up networking appointments
- Write questions to ask during each appointment
- Prepare resume packet for each appointment made
- Prepare and send resumes for job found online or in the newspaper

Afternoon

- Attend networking appointment (if previously scheduled)
- Write thank you note following appointment
- Check one or two online job sites

Weekend

- Prepare for new week
- Check online job listings

Track each activity

For each tactic, track all of your activity. You can use computer software or a plain notebook with blank pages. The idea is to keep notes on each days actions, checking them against your master checklist for the tactic.

Lets use an example. You want to make a networking appointment with Suzy Smith, so start with a blank page and put her name at the top, along with relevant contact information. Each time you do one of the steps defined as part of networking (make the phone call, prepare a resume packet, go to the appointment, etc.), mark it down on Suzys page. Note the date, time, action taken, and any notes you may have.

Tracking your activity creates two benefits. First, when you have multiple activities happening at the same time it is very easy to get confused or lose track of steps that still need to be taken. Using your tracking log, it is easy to see at a glance where you are at with each activity and what next step is coming up. The second benefit is that it keeps you focused and active in your job search. It is easy to procrastinate and postpone looking for a job, but if you have to note daily activities in a tracking log you will feel more motivated to get moving and take action.

Action items

Finally, keep a separate list of action items that need attention right away. If, for example, a contact tells you about an open position at a colleagues company and suggests you call about it, this goes on your action item list to be handled within 24 to 48 hours. This list is a great way to deal with emergent issues and opportunities, while still staying organized and keeping up with your regular schedule.

posted by Admin on Jul 18

Hunting for jobs nowadays is a very competitive and sometimes cut-throat affair. Here are a few tips to help you get the edge in searching out and landing the job of your dreams.

The Curriculum Vitae
The CV is the first, and at most times the most important part of applying for a job. Since potential employers have to whittle down practically hundreds of applications to a few valid ones, they will have to base their narrowing down efforts using the CVs they have collected.

Studies have shown that about half of the employers decide to accept or reject job applications based on the related work experience listed in the CV. A third of the employers decide to reject or accept these job applications based on the layout design of these applications.

1. Make Your CV Stand Out
When preparing your CV, make sure your CV stands out among the rest. It should be the type that is appealing to the eyes, making the evaluating personnel want to read the CV. Step two is for you to make sure your CV lists the related work experience you have had in relation to the job you are applying for.

1. Make Your CV Concise and Relevant
Avoid making your CVs too long. It may make it irrelevant to the evaluator. Remember that the employer is a person to whom time is important. If your CV shows that you value hisher time while showing the most relevant information in the least amount of time, you will have won one important battle.

2. Always tailor your CV to the job.
You may have had previous experience that may not be related to the job you are applying for. Some people keep many different versions of their CV for different job opening purposes. Make sure your CV is appropriate for the job. A one-size-fits-all CV may not be the best way to go since the employer will have the impression that your previous efforts have not been focused enough to produce any specialization on your part.

3. Write about your achievements
You may add your achievements, but make your statements factual and relevant. It does not do harm to advertise yourself, but make your advertisement matter-of-fact and not just hot air. You may want to skip on listing your weak points as the CV is not the avenue for such discussions.

4. Polish Your CV
Your employer will know if you have put enough time producing your CV. If heshe sees that you have put sufficient and thorough effort into your CV, heshe will assume that you will do the same in your work. This is a big plus for you. It is not uncommon for some people to spend days or even weeks polishing and buffing their CVs.

posted by Admin on Jul 11

So you want to look around for your next career step but you are concerned that your current employer will find out and give you an early exit? Confidentiality in your job search is a reasonable concern and makes the way you approach finding your next position all the more important. Confidentiality and privacy issues in todays hyper-informative world are issues that should be taken seriously.

Keeping your intentions of changing jobs a secret is a challenge but secrecy is in your best interest. Case in point: Hilda was a highly paid pharmacist working for an independent pharmacy in Atlanta. She was approached by a new independent pharmacy who was a direct competitor of her current employer. The word leaked out that she was considering taking a directly competing position and her employer terminated her employment out of concern for operational security. As pharmacist-in-charge, she had full access to retailwholesale pricing, future plans, insurance reimbursement rates and customer information all data that would be highly desirable by the competitor. Hildas employer just could not take the chance that she would leave and take all that information with her so they terminated her. Unfortunately, the competitor did not make an offer of employment to Hilda and she was left out in the cold not hired, and fired. If she had taken greater pains to keep her options confidential, she may not have ended up in the predicament of suddenly being unemployed.

On the flip side, it may be tempting to let slip to your current employer that you are looking around for new opportunities to provide some leverage for a raise or a promotion. Fishing for a counter-offer is a no-win situation. In a survey by the Wall Street Journal, 93 percent of employees who accept counter-offers to remain with an employer leave anyway after 18 months. If you are unhappy enough to spend months hunting for a new position, dealing with recruiters, and going on interviews, the true value of a counter offer should be questioned. Employers make counter-offers for their best interest not the employees. Employers need to make sure projects are completed, that deadlines are met, and that production does not lag. An employee who accepts a counter-offer has branded himself as disloyal and possibly a gold-digger and will forever more be viewed as such by superiors.

Common sense rules when going about a confidential job search. Do not use your work phone, email, or company cell phone to conduct any job search activities. Do not surf the job sites during your lunch hour or at anytime on your work PC. Be careful of the conversations you have within earshot of other co-workers. Do not leave your resume lying on your desk at work. Keep your plans and intentions quiet, even from close office friends whom you feel you can trust. Request confidentiality from all potential employers until an offer is made.

Beyond the obvious, consider the following tips for keeping your job search hush-hush:

Remove identifying information from your online resume. Replace your name with a generic title such as Senior Marketing Executive. Use only your cell phone number and a web-based email address that can be dropped after your job search. City and state is sufficient for address no need for street address or zip code. Remove your current employers name and replace it with something that is descriptive, yet unidentifiable such as Major Manhattan-based Financial Organization.

Be careful in your networking. Networking is essential to an effective job search, but indiscrete networking can breach your wish for confidentiality. Networking carefully can be even more difficult in closed industries or highly-specialized fields. Ask more questions than you answer in group settings; talk about possible employment options with decision-makers only; and provide your resume only to someone in a position to assist you confidentially.

Protect your references. References should only be provided in an interview, and preferably not at a first interview. You dont want your colleagues getting wind of your intentions before an offer is imminent.

Consider a confidential job search agent. If you have an annual salary of greater than 500,000 andor you are well-known in your industry, hiring an agent to conduct your job search might be a good idea. The agent can extend inquiries without breaching confidentiality. An agent is not a recruiter, but rather someone who works for you individually to act as your liaison with potential employers.

In addition to confidentiality in a job search, everyone should be concerned about protection of privacy. Never, ever give out your social security number, drivers license number, or bank account numbers to anyone during the job search process. There are scam artists out there who will take advantage of your vulnerability as a job seeker to steal your identity, your money, and your reputation. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has some helpful tips for protecting your privacy during your job search at http:www.privacyrights.orgfsfs25-JobSeekerPriv.htm.

The World Privacy Forum has an excellent article about an Internet job scam that is a must-read for anyone considering using the Internet for their job search. This particular job scam involved 23 Internet job boards including Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and PreferredJobs.com. The scam involved a posting that required the new hire to transfer money into their personal bank account and then transfer it back out to an account overseas via Western Union, keeping a percentage of the total amount for their work. According to victims of the scam who responded to the article, the interview and application process for the position was extremely convincing and they were totally taken in. The article can be found at http:www.worldprivacyforum.orgjobscamreportpt1.html.

The bottom line is that confidentiality starts with you. A secret shared is no longer a secret and cannot be controlled. If you are serious about keeping your career ladder climb quiet, you must take the precautions that are necessary. Employers have a great deal to lose when they lose employees human capital investment, corporate information, competitive data so keeping your intentions to leave might well be in your best interests until the time is right.

posted by Admin on Jul 4

Getting into the labour market after school or college is a daunting prospect and thats without the minefield of jargon, overnight advances in technology and discriminatory attitudes.

OK – Lets bust a bit of that jargon! What exactly are transferable skills?
Quite simply, they are things you can do in one area of your life which can be used somewhere else.

Lets take an example. As a student, did you get all your assignments in on time? Were you able to set up extensions if your work was late? Did you learn how to type quickly and use a number of computer programmes effectively? Did you hold down a part-time job and manage to juggle work with study and your social life?

If you answered yes to all, or at least some of the above, you have demonstrated an extensive range of skills, such as effective time management, negotiating and good communication skills. Now, you may not give them such grand titles, but if you were filling in a job application form, thats exactly what youd call them.

Youve been picking up skills from the moment you were born. The problem is that you take most of your skills for granted. Thats something weve got to change! So grab a pen and paper, get yourself a cup of coffee and lets get started.

Choose any role youve had in your life.

As a graduate, youll have spent a large part of your life so far as a student and so well use that in our example. Have a go at brainstorming the skills you developed in your school or student days.

What did you come up with?

Communication Skills

You had no chance of surviving as a student – and even less chance of passing your exams – if you couldnt communicate the knowledge and skills that you are at college to learn.

How did you communicate this information? By writing essays, giving presentations or talks, delivering a lesson to other students, answering questions, writing a thesis? You may have devised questionnaires and interviewed members of the public, written articles for on or offline publication or for a college newsletter. Youll have taken notes and summarised information from books and lectures. Think about each subject you studied and write a list of the methods of communication you used, both oral and written and write examples of each.

Teamwork

As a student you will have been exposed to group work of some sort – I know, Im a teacher! You may have had to research a subject to make a group presentation or for a written assignment, or perhaps you produced a class newsletter or were involved in a community project with classmates. If you have played any team sports in your spare time, you will know a lot about what it takes to work as a member of a team.

Ability to work alone and on your own initiative

Much of the work you did at college was not group work, but stuff you had to do alone and you probably had to motivate yourself to get on with it. So, how good were you at getting all the work done? You may not have liked it, but if it had to be done, chances are you did it. How did you use your own initiative? Did you devise ways in which to make remembering information easier? Did you come up with creative ideas to make your work different and interesting? Did you find a job which you were able to fit in with your studies and which solved some of your financial problems?

Ability to meet deadlines

Deadlines – You certainly had a few of these in your student days. Did you meet them? You may have learned the hard way, sitting up all night at the last minute, but most people manage to get things in on time. And if you didnt, how well did you negotiate an alternative solution?

IT Skills

As a student you will have used, at the very least, the internet, email and word processing packages. Your college will probably have provided free tuition in these and possibly also in programmes like Powerpoint and Excel. You may also have developed other skills in your own time or when you were at school, such as web design or programming. Add all these to your list.

Research skills

You will have had to do some form of research for your assignments and for your thesis or dissertation if you went to university. Write down the methods you used internet, specialist libraries, journals, interviewing, using questionnaires, doing case studies.

Communication skills, teamwork, ability to work on your own and to use your own initiative, ability to meet deadlines, IT and research skills are all high on employers lists of essential attributes in a graduate employee. Your job is to provide examples which prove that you have these skills. So, using the information in this article, make your own list of specific examples. They will help you shine both on paper and at the interview.

Waller Jamison 2005