Kamis, 30 April 2009
at
13.30
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The three secrets we`re about to share are only "secrets" in that they are the most often overlooked things to do connected with your job search. They`re actually quite simple steps to take that really aren`t a big deal -- unless you skip them
Secret no.1: Define "Job" and "Career"
We`re not talking about knowing if you`re looking for a job as a cosmetics salesperson, a bond trader, or a salmon fisher. While it`s important to know what occupation you`re aiming for, it`s even more important to think about bigger picture issues, like expectations, identity, and lifelong career paths. Pretty lofty subjects.
It`s hard to avoid being identified by the job you do or the occupational field you`re a part of -- everybody wants to know what you do. This cultural norm can be a real pain for people who get their intrinsic rewards from pursuits other than the activity that brings the paycheck.
A career is all the things you are doing at any given point in time to create a satisfying life while setting and working toward goals.
You might work as a waiter for money but also intern and take classes to develop your career. Whether you`re 22 or 52, that combination is just as respectable as being on the fast-track in a traditional, full-time job. So, as a first strategy for getting a job, reflect on your own definition of what a "good" job is, and consequently, what success means to you.
Evolutionary Matters
We`re basically saying that careers evolve over time and that to understand whether any given job is worthwhile and right for you, you have to know what careers are all about. Most every career expert will agree that careers are developmental. You don`t just choose to be a whatever at the age of 18 or 22 or 26 and do that for the rest of your life. You`re likely to have several different occupations (i.e., the specific fields you work in) and many different jobs (i.e., the positions you hold) over a lifetime.
Changing the Norm
What used to be called "job hopping" has become the more acceptable "career transitioning." And people who have part-time jobs in different fields or work as consultants and maybe go to school part-time are no longer called "scattered" -- they`re now called "portfolio people" because they`ve creatively patched together a career out of a variety of skills and experiences. These different occupations and jobs amount to a career.
Secret #2: Know Yourself and What You Want
One of the easiest ways to sabotage your search is to come across as unfocused. True, in Secret #1 we said it`s okay not to have a definite career direction because it`s unrealistic to think you can perfectly plan out a career path. However, you do have to be focused during a job search. You can be crystal clear that a job you are applying for is right on target, even if you`re a little fuzzy on your long-range goals.
Whether through letters, phone calls, or interviews, every moment of contact with prospective employers must convey that you have a focus and that you arrived at that focus carefully and thoughtfully. Your focus is that you know why any given job would be right for you and why you should be hired.
Me, Myself, and I
Ask yourself three questions: What do I like? What do I do well? and What do I care about? The answers correspond to the categories interests, skills, and values. By contemplating these questions, you`re also addressing the question: "Who am I and which kinds of environments will I thrive in?"
• Interests: things that we enjoy doing, discussing, or daydreaming about, e.g., hobbies, sports, academic subjects, work activities, etc. Your job is to decide which interests need to be a part of your work life.
• Skills: a broad category that encompasses three main areas: learned skills (tangible things we`ve learned how to do, like using a computer or writing a newspaper article); innate skills (aptitudes or talents, like mechanical or writing abilities); and personality skills (like being hard-working, detail-oriented, or creative). Deciding which skills you enjoy using is an important factor in defining a career focus, but is especially critical in obtaining a job. (Secret #3 talks much more about assessment of your skills and their role in marketing yourself for a job.)
• Values: at times, making money might be a priority; at other points, doing good for the world might be more important. If you`re in or recently out of college, you may not know where you stand, but you can look for patterns you`ve already developed. Were you the kid who was always selling something, or the one in the corner drawing pictures?
What Jobs are Right for Me?
Assess your interests, strengths, values, and personality style. You can takeformal, standardized tests, or you can complete informal paper-pencil exercises found in career guidebooks or from career counselors. Or, you can simply observe and analyze your daily thoughts and habits to find clues to what floats your boat. Whichever method you use, you`ll be compiling a personal evaluation and profile that will point you in the appropriate career direction.
Your goal is to decide what you want out of a job and a career. Once you`ve identified your interests, skills, and values, define your priorities. You might have a strong interest in oil painting but value job security and making money. If so, you`ll need a job that is more stable and lucrative -- maybe something on the business side of an arts organization. Or, you may choose to keep your art interest "pure" by painting in your spare time and doing a non-arts job to make money. Determine your priorities so you can focus on getting a job that meets your needs.
Secret #3: Know What You Have to Offer
It sounds obvious, but you have to focus on what you have to offer before you can expect to get a job. Prospective employers want to know one simple thing: What can you do for us? To get a job, you have to sell a prospective employer on your talents, skills, and potential.
Doing the self-assessment we advocated in Secret #2 is one way to do that. Your interests, skills, and values form the basis of the self-marketing campaign. It shows how you`ll add value to an organization. While interests and values are important in the self-marketing campaign, strengths and skills are hands down the most important facet of your campaign.
But I Don`t Have Any Skills
Don`t worry; employers are hiring you as much for your potential as for your concrete, job-related skills. They can teach you how to work their computer program or sell their products, but they can`t teach you how to think. It`s the age-old argument for a liberal arts education.
If you have physical or learning disabilities and have spent your school years focusing on your difficulties and strategies for overcoming them, then you may feel lacking in job-related skills. Some of the most successful people in a variety of fields have disabilities. The skills that have enabled you to cope and adapt are usually more useful in the job world than the skills that have enabled your classmates to ace academia or sports.
I am What I am
One way to demystify the confusing process of declaring your strengths is to think of them as falling into three categories:
• I am: "I am" skills are the broadest ones in that they reflect your capabilities, talents, and general areas of strength. They even border on being personality characteristics. For example, you might say: "I am artistic, I am mechanically inclined, I am easygoing, I am detail-oriented." The skills in this category are highly versatile and can be valued in any number of career fields.
• I can: "I can" skills are next broadest but a little more specifically linked to activities. They are such things as: "I can speak French fluently, I can do word processing, I can balance a budget." The I can skills are also transferable among many different fields.
• I know: "I know" skills are the most narrowly defined and most closely connected to a particular activity or content area. They might be, for example: "I know French business vocabulary, I know Microsoft Office, I know how to monitor accounts payable and receivable in a retail business."
Putting It in Perspective
After you`ve come up with your three sets of skills, think about the ones that will be the real selling points for getting a job. (These should also be the skills you`d like to use on a job.) You`ll now have your own "Skills Package." Your Skills Package is the backbone of successful letter and resume writing, interviewing, and negotiating. Refer to your Skills Package throughout your job search as you present yourself to prospective employers in writing, on the phone, and in person.
Good Luck !
Secret no.1: Define "Job" and "Career"
We`re not talking about knowing if you`re looking for a job as a cosmetics salesperson, a bond trader, or a salmon fisher. While it`s important to know what occupation you`re aiming for, it`s even more important to think about bigger picture issues, like expectations, identity, and lifelong career paths. Pretty lofty subjects.
It`s hard to avoid being identified by the job you do or the occupational field you`re a part of -- everybody wants to know what you do. This cultural norm can be a real pain for people who get their intrinsic rewards from pursuits other than the activity that brings the paycheck.
A career is all the things you are doing at any given point in time to create a satisfying life while setting and working toward goals.
You might work as a waiter for money but also intern and take classes to develop your career. Whether you`re 22 or 52, that combination is just as respectable as being on the fast-track in a traditional, full-time job. So, as a first strategy for getting a job, reflect on your own definition of what a "good" job is, and consequently, what success means to you.
Evolutionary Matters
We`re basically saying that careers evolve over time and that to understand whether any given job is worthwhile and right for you, you have to know what careers are all about. Most every career expert will agree that careers are developmental. You don`t just choose to be a whatever at the age of 18 or 22 or 26 and do that for the rest of your life. You`re likely to have several different occupations (i.e., the specific fields you work in) and many different jobs (i.e., the positions you hold) over a lifetime.
Changing the Norm
What used to be called "job hopping" has become the more acceptable "career transitioning." And people who have part-time jobs in different fields or work as consultants and maybe go to school part-time are no longer called "scattered" -- they`re now called "portfolio people" because they`ve creatively patched together a career out of a variety of skills and experiences. These different occupations and jobs amount to a career.
Secret #2: Know Yourself and What You Want
One of the easiest ways to sabotage your search is to come across as unfocused. True, in Secret #1 we said it`s okay not to have a definite career direction because it`s unrealistic to think you can perfectly plan out a career path. However, you do have to be focused during a job search. You can be crystal clear that a job you are applying for is right on target, even if you`re a little fuzzy on your long-range goals.
Whether through letters, phone calls, or interviews, every moment of contact with prospective employers must convey that you have a focus and that you arrived at that focus carefully and thoughtfully. Your focus is that you know why any given job would be right for you and why you should be hired.
Me, Myself, and I
Ask yourself three questions: What do I like? What do I do well? and What do I care about? The answers correspond to the categories interests, skills, and values. By contemplating these questions, you`re also addressing the question: "Who am I and which kinds of environments will I thrive in?"
• Interests: things that we enjoy doing, discussing, or daydreaming about, e.g., hobbies, sports, academic subjects, work activities, etc. Your job is to decide which interests need to be a part of your work life.
• Skills: a broad category that encompasses three main areas: learned skills (tangible things we`ve learned how to do, like using a computer or writing a newspaper article); innate skills (aptitudes or talents, like mechanical or writing abilities); and personality skills (like being hard-working, detail-oriented, or creative). Deciding which skills you enjoy using is an important factor in defining a career focus, but is especially critical in obtaining a job. (Secret #3 talks much more about assessment of your skills and their role in marketing yourself for a job.)
• Values: at times, making money might be a priority; at other points, doing good for the world might be more important. If you`re in or recently out of college, you may not know where you stand, but you can look for patterns you`ve already developed. Were you the kid who was always selling something, or the one in the corner drawing pictures?
What Jobs are Right for Me?
Assess your interests, strengths, values, and personality style. You can takeformal, standardized tests, or you can complete informal paper-pencil exercises found in career guidebooks or from career counselors. Or, you can simply observe and analyze your daily thoughts and habits to find clues to what floats your boat. Whichever method you use, you`ll be compiling a personal evaluation and profile that will point you in the appropriate career direction.
Your goal is to decide what you want out of a job and a career. Once you`ve identified your interests, skills, and values, define your priorities. You might have a strong interest in oil painting but value job security and making money. If so, you`ll need a job that is more stable and lucrative -- maybe something on the business side of an arts organization. Or, you may choose to keep your art interest "pure" by painting in your spare time and doing a non-arts job to make money. Determine your priorities so you can focus on getting a job that meets your needs.
Secret #3: Know What You Have to Offer
It sounds obvious, but you have to focus on what you have to offer before you can expect to get a job. Prospective employers want to know one simple thing: What can you do for us? To get a job, you have to sell a prospective employer on your talents, skills, and potential.
Doing the self-assessment we advocated in Secret #2 is one way to do that. Your interests, skills, and values form the basis of the self-marketing campaign. It shows how you`ll add value to an organization. While interests and values are important in the self-marketing campaign, strengths and skills are hands down the most important facet of your campaign.
But I Don`t Have Any Skills
Don`t worry; employers are hiring you as much for your potential as for your concrete, job-related skills. They can teach you how to work their computer program or sell their products, but they can`t teach you how to think. It`s the age-old argument for a liberal arts education.
If you have physical or learning disabilities and have spent your school years focusing on your difficulties and strategies for overcoming them, then you may feel lacking in job-related skills. Some of the most successful people in a variety of fields have disabilities. The skills that have enabled you to cope and adapt are usually more useful in the job world than the skills that have enabled your classmates to ace academia or sports.
I am What I am
One way to demystify the confusing process of declaring your strengths is to think of them as falling into three categories:
• I am: "I am" skills are the broadest ones in that they reflect your capabilities, talents, and general areas of strength. They even border on being personality characteristics. For example, you might say: "I am artistic, I am mechanically inclined, I am easygoing, I am detail-oriented." The skills in this category are highly versatile and can be valued in any number of career fields.
• I can: "I can" skills are next broadest but a little more specifically linked to activities. They are such things as: "I can speak French fluently, I can do word processing, I can balance a budget." The I can skills are also transferable among many different fields.
• I know: "I know" skills are the most narrowly defined and most closely connected to a particular activity or content area. They might be, for example: "I know French business vocabulary, I know Microsoft Office, I know how to monitor accounts payable and receivable in a retail business."
Putting It in Perspective
After you`ve come up with your three sets of skills, think about the ones that will be the real selling points for getting a job. (These should also be the skills you`d like to use on a job.) You`ll now have your own "Skills Package." Your Skills Package is the backbone of successful letter and resume writing, interviewing, and negotiating. Refer to your Skills Package throughout your job search as you present yourself to prospective employers in writing, on the phone, and in person.
Good Luck !
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