Follow Through on Your Job Resolutions
The New Year brings a flurry of activity in the job market. It's also the time to get your job search into high gear so that you can make the most of these new opportunities. So, dust off your resume and use these four steps to get your job search off to a good start.
Clear Your Workspace
Before you try to tackle your job search, take a quick look around you. Are you surrounded by clutter? Excessive clutter can add to the sense of confusion that often plagues job hunters. So clear enough space to be able to sit and compose your thoughts. If necessary, take yourself out to a clean, quiet spot, such as your local library.
Focus Your Search
If you don't know where you are headed, you can waste a lot of time and energy on unimportant tasks. Or worse, you can end up drifting aimlessly and doing nothing at all. You can prevent this from happening to you by using goals to guide your job search. Now we're not talking about New Year's resolutions that you discard within a month. Goals that are vaguely worded, or overly ambitious, are doomed to failure as soon as you write them. Set a goal for your job search as a whole. Then set smaller goals that you can work on each day of your job search. Make sure that your goals are within your reach by asking yourself if they are:
•Specific and measurable
•Within your power to achieve
•Realistic
•Timely
•Positive
•Gratifying to you.
For example, "Email resumes to 15 companies by the end of the day" is an achievable goal, based on these standards. On the other hand, "Stop blowing interview questions" is not.
Choose a Starting Point
It's natural to feel overwhelmed when you have dozens of tasks to work on. Yet, this can also happen when you're just starting out and aren't certain where to begin. Fight the urge to either admit defeat or tackle all areas at once. Begin by selecting a single area of your job search as a starting point. It's more effective to start with smaller tasks that are stepping stones to larger tasks. Here are some examples:
•Update your resume
•Find new job leads in a single area
•Update and prioritize your list of contacts
•Make a list of interview questions to practice
Get the Ball Rolling
Don't be surprised if you find it hard to get started on job search tasks or keep making excuses to take breaks. Now is the time to focus on taking action -- any action -- rather than on completing a task perfectly. Build your sense of success by completing one daily goal every day. You'll soon find that your motivation increases and your job search gains momentum. Before you know it, you'll be on your way to job search success.
Four Reasons to Revise Your Resume
For some folks, updating a resume is as much fun as getting a tooth pulled. But keeping your resume current is only painful when you haven't done it for a very long time. If you view a resume as a constant work in progress, updating it frequently will be a pain-free process. Still not convinced? Here are four reasons why you should revise your resume today.
The "Crazy" Trap Lurks
Remember the definition of "crazy": doing the same thing over and over yet hoping for a different result. If you're sending out the same resume over and over yet not getting any response from employers, your resume needs help. Revise it to enjoy different results.
Nothing Stays the Same
Even if you've held the same job for the past three years, your resume shouldn't look the same as it did three years ago. If your responsibilities at your job have remained static, perhaps the technology you use to do it has not. Indicate that on your resume. If nothing truly has changed at all, it may be time to take on some new responsibilities or learn new skills.
Do You Know Where You're Going to?
Your resume is a road map of where you've been -- and it's a good indicator of where you're headed. Updating it frequently will help you remain connected to what's on the map and where you are in your career. This awareness will help you determine what new experience or skills you'll need to wind up at your dream destination.
Snooze, and You Lose
When opportunity knocks, you need to be ready to respond at a moment's notice. There's no better way to introduce a careless error into your resume than by updating it at the last minute. Revise it now, and take your time. Don't ruin your chance to impress a potential employer because your resume isn't current.
For resumes, does size matter? (How long is too long?)
Content is key
It's content, not size, that matters. More specifically, it's the quality of the content in a resume -- the information that immediately tells me why you're the right person for the job -- that matters.
If you're wondering what to leave in and what to take out, a simple rule of thumb is to include information that is relevant to your career -- membership/leadership roles in industry associations, education, speaking engagements, or published articles -- and to take out any personal information -- age, marital status, number of children, health or political/religious affiliations. Whether your resume is one or two pages, make every word count.
Less is still more
I think it's always good to remember that a resume is not unlike a business card; it gives the recruiter and hiring manager information about you, but is by no means you. I give points for being succinct and for originality. After reflecting on some of the best resumes I've seen, I would recommend keeping to 700-1000 words. I also recommend keeping it to one page unless you are at the VP-or-above level. And in that case, less is still more. If you are at the exec level, only brief information is needed about your first few jobs.
Pages mean less online
Electronic communication has changed the old adage of "no more than one page." As a recruiter, I don't even notice scrolling through a couple of pages. The more important factor to me is that the format is easy to read (i.e. clean, simple sentences, flows nicely, etc.), identifies what the candidate has done and where they did it, and relates to the position at hand. In the presentation of your information, make it easy for the audience to see how your background correlates to the position you are applying for.
Summarize with accuracy
I have seen resumes that have literally been 10 pages long. Recruiters and hiring managers simply do not have time to read resumes that long, regardless of experience. The best resumes I have seen are 2-3 pages long highlighting skills and accomplishments. Don't get too wordy -- we don't want to read a novel, just a summary. And be accurate! If it is on your resume, recruiters and managers will ask you about it!
What resume?
More and more companies allow applying without a resume. Sometimes they even prefer this, as it may be a sign that you are a passive job seeker. I have seen in many companies that they do the screening without using a resume; they only require a resume in case of an interview. So the general advice I would give is to make sure that whatever is required in the online application is filled out! And of course do have a resume with all the necessary keywords if you are an active seeker.
Suresh Bharwani, corporate trainer and CEO of Jetking, an IT training company, offers these tips on the mind mapping process.
i. Start with the central idea/ word
Write this premise in the middle of a blank sheet of paper. Then, list the first support idea that comes to mind in the 12 o'clock position. Next, note any related points. As you exhaust ideas on a topic, move to the 1 o'clock position and begin again. Continue clockwise.
ii. Let the thoughts flow
Do not restrict your thoughts or try to keep your thought process logical.
iii. Use only key words
Often, when taking notes or creating an outline, we use too many words. Most people think faster than they write (the human mind can think of up 1,200 to 1,600 words a minute. On an average, most people can write 25 to 35 words a minute in freehand; the best of us can type little more than 100 words a minute).
The idea is to think in bullet form and jot down one or two words that capture the concept. This way, you won't slow down your thinking.
iv. Allow yourself to bounce around
You could suddenly find yourself thinking of something that fits with idea number one even as you are working on your third or fourth key idea. That's okay. Stop, bounce back, add the idea and then continue.
v. Feel free to connect things that relate
When two topics relate to one another, simply draw an arrow to connect them. The arrow may be drawn with the same colour as the rest of the mind map or with another colour to highlight the intended connection clearly.
vi. Try short bursts
Time yourself for five minutes. Then take a break, sit back and look at your mind map. Do something else. Then, spend another five minutes adding, modifying, and adjusting your mind map.
vii. Mind mapping is a tool
Many people, when exposed to mind mapping, say, "I could never show this to my boss." A mind map is not necessarily for others. It is primarily for yourself. Don't use a mind map as a report. Instead, use the mind map to help create the report. Use it to make sure all the elements you want in the report are there before you start.