Finding a job is one of the most difficult and stressful events of one’s life. Through years of working in the career consulting field, our writers have been helping professionals find jobs for decades.
The Job Search category includes articles related to searching for a job, finding a job, contacting employers, job markets, negotiation and general job search topics.
The Ultimate Job Test: Ready for a Challenge?
You’ve heard of the brainteaser questions used by Google in their candidate selection process. Candidates comb the Internet for insight from candidates who’ve succeeded in a Google interview. Well, Upstream Systems has raised the stakes with a new employee selection tool. Upstream Systems is a global mobile marketing technology and services provider. The company has always been an industry leader, having launched inaugural mobile marketing campaigns for giants, such as Coca Cola and T-Mobile. Now they are seeking five talented Marketing Campaign Managers. If you think you have what it takes, they have a challenge for you. Your seven-part mission, should you choose to accept it, begins on this webpage. You just get one shot, and as they state in the instructions, they will know and “will call the police” if you try to take the challenge a second time. (This reminds me of Willy Wonka as he begins the tour of his famous chocolate factory.)
Secret Steps to Finding a Job on LinkedIn
According to a recent study that was conducted by ROI Research on behalf of Performics marketing agency, 59% of active social networkers say LinkedIn is their most important social media site when compared with Facebook and Twitter. I would tend to agree.
5 ½ Reasons You Haven’t Gotten a Job Offer?
The economy is clearly still lagging, but as time goes by, your friends and colleagues are getting jobs, so why not you? Sure, luck is one factor, but if you have the sneaking suspicion that you are always the bridesmaid, but never the bride, it may be time to take a hard look at what you can do to improve your job search.
Maintaining Motivation
I realize how difficult it is to remain motivated during the search for new employment. For some, it seems like time is standing still. More than 50% of success is ‘showing up’ – or remaining motivated!
Leveraging LinkedIN Groups For Your Job Search
I have found that many people still do not see the obvious power that LinkedIN has as a networking tool, and I regularly spend countless coaching hours helping people establish a presence on LinkedIN, including how to find and connect to people that might be able to further their careers – which is very easy, by the way. To give you an idea of how powerful it can be, I have two personal examples of how LinkedIN groups were instrumental to job seekers:
Professional- Me – The Touchstone of the New Digital Persona
Creating a personal branding strategy to accelerate your career growth
Still No Job… Is There Really A Way?
While the weeks crawled away into months there’s still no job. As the paradigm shifted a while ago from “I need to find a job fast” to “ I wish that I could find a way to make a quick buck”, the light at the end of the tunnel looks yet dimmer. Tired of the anxiety and the pressure and the depression of being in this mess… man it’s tough to keep your head up isn’t it?
Keeping a Positive Attitude During a Demanding Job Search
One of the hardest things to do is to maintain positive and proactive during an especially challenging job search. It can be totally disheartening to apply for positions and hear nothing except the crickets chirping in the clear night. Why isn’t anyone responding? There are some things that you need to consider, seriously, as you dig in and get busy to get the interviews. Here are some tips to getting the interviews and also keeping it in perspective:
Acronym Soup for Your Job Search
So, you want to change verticals; financial services is no longer your cup of tea — maybe you are thinking of moving to a role in healthcare. Or maybe you spent your whole life working in engineering and think it might be good idea to work for an investment bank. Certainly, it is not uncommon to change jobs or industries multiple times throughout your professional career. But, you better make sure you can talk the talk as well as walk the walk. It is not just enough that you can get the job done. When you walk into the interview, the first thing the interviewer thinks is “Wow this person’s background is impressive but he has no experience in <insert vertical here. >
Keeping Your Chin Up When Your Job Search Gets You Down
We all go through it; the period of time where you want to ‘throw in the towel’ as it were. Sometimes it’s easy to think that you are always the bridesmaid but never the bride – especially when you are scouring ever possible website, linking up with people at networking and other events, contacting your alumni association, and basically starting conversations with people in the vegetable aisle at your local supermarket – all in the hope of getting a bite – no, not a bite to eat – a bite at a job lead.
How Your Mental Attitude Effects Your Job Search
With the New Year, people start anew; they start fresh – with a clean slate. Now is the time that we look to the future with anticipation and hope. This feeling should and must carry over into your job search. Why? How you feel about yourself is projected onto others. While exploring opportunities you need a positive and proactive approach – your mental attitude plays a big part in determining your success. Some people might find this specious. How often do you hear someone say: “Think positive!” Those words are powerful; if you know how to channel your energy in a meaningful way – what was just words can be transformed into a useful and effective mindset.
The Value of a Professional Bio
As we all know, profiling your skills and attributes in a compelling resume and cover letter go a long way in marketing you. In those documents you are promoting your features and benefits of the ‘product’. If this is all you are using you are missing a less well known, but highly desirable personal branding document – the professional bio. How can this document serve as a powerful supplement to your other marketing materials?
Transferable Skills to Highlight During Your Job Search
We all know how important it is to highlight relevant skills and accomplishments on your resume as a means to generating interviews. Sometimes though, you might see or hear of an opportunity that you would like to apply for but you are unsure how to convey your experiences in a way that makes sense for the role. In some instances, you might have the skills but they are not as apparent. That is when it is important to demonstrate your transferable skills to a new role. There are many competencies that can be applied to almost every position and every industry. Consider the following when applying:
Tapping Into the Hidden Job Market
It is a well known fact that using job boards exclusively as you conduct a job search will leave you confounded and frustrated. Sure you might be qualified for the positions for which you are applying – but posting your resume online is like trying to find a needle in a haystack – a really, really big haystack.
Do You Like Me and the Advantage During the Career Search
How advantageous is it to look good when it comes to job search? If you really have the ‘goods’ from a qualifications perspective, does it matter all that much that you might be in the running against someone who is much more attractive than you are or “shows” better than you do? According to research, people unknowingly characterize good-looking people with positive traits, including intelligence, honesty, and kindness. This reaction is automatic – people don’t even realize that they are doing it. According to Robert Cialdini, author of Influence, “good-looking equals good.” While this concept scares him, he points to similar instances of attractive people obtaining positions in government, the judicial system, and yes, hiring.
Building Your Brand as You Leave a Job
Leaving a job can cause a lot of uncertainty. Surely you want to feel as if you are doing the right thing. The longer you have been with a company the more connected you become; it can be difficult to let go. The unknown is scary. While new opportunities certainly offer the promise of great things there is always the other side of the coin. When you are departing and moving on to (hopefully) bigger and better things, there is a way to make a graceful exit without burning bridges.
Building Self Confidence
Self confidence is a critical component to an effective job search. Confidence empowers us and gives faith in the ability to quell feelings of self-doubt – particularly important when you are trying to gain employment. How you feel about yourself is projected during the interview process and plays a major part in success or failure during those interactions. Do you panic when asked to speak before an audience? Do you fail to stand up for yourself in business situations? Do you find yourself making excuses in demanding situations? Do you apologize when you haven’t done anything wrong? Here are some of my tips and guidelines to help you:
Extending Your Job Search Through Your Friends
People like to do business with their friends and connections. When searching for a job, who better to network with than people who can vouch for your character. Good friends are worth their weight in gold. Why? They will praise you; they will tout your positive attributes; they will pump you up; they will SELL you – need I say more? So it stands to reason that you should engage your friends and generate new connections to help you with the search. Here are some guidelines to get you going:
So, You Want to be an Investment Banker?
You have completed four years of college, taken all of the finance and economics classes you can stand and gained some practical work experience within the finance industry in the hopes of working for a boutique or well known bulge bracket firm. So, what can you really expect? Here is some information to help you break into the coveted investment-banking arena:
Negotiate THIS
Negotiating is an art, no doubt. Done correctly it will lead to victory. Done poorly it could lead to failure. When it comes to negotiating salary and other benefits in the workplace, nothing makes people more uncomfortable. He who talks money first loses as they say. Why? Well, it’s because the minute you reference your previous salary, the other side has a distinct advantage. If you reference a desired salary, you may put yourself in a position where you downplay your worth; alternatively, if you present too high a number, you will not be considered for the opportunity.
This blog's author, Debra Wheatman of Careers Done Write, provides executive career services including resume and cover letter preparation, job search / interviewing strategies and professional branding including how to effectively use LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media in your career.
Visit CareersDoneWrite.com to learn more about how we can put your career in gear with interview catching resumes and professionally written career documents.