When it comes to selling yourself on paper, you will find that newspaper editors are tough customers. After all, they put information on paper every day. There are no bonus points for correct spelling, punctuation or grammar. Those are givens. A single error can consign your résumé to the circular file. Edit your work, proofread the final copy and then double-check everything. Twice. Have someone else go over it. Make sure the editor is NOT the first person to see the finished product.
Understand the purpose of a résumé. It is not intended to get you a job. It is meant to tell the prospective employer enough about you so that they’ll look at your work samples or call you in for an interview. Use the interview, tests, tryouts and other activities to land the job. In a business where word economy is valued, one-page résumés are twice as effective as two-page résumés. Even editors with 20 years and several papers behind them limit their résumés to one page. You’re certainly free to go over that, but it’s not very smart — especially when your experience, in comparison to the editor’s — is modest.
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Posted in Talent and Career
If you want to negotiate the best deal for yourself going into a job, do as I say, not as I do.
When the Free Press asked me whether I wanted a job, I immediately yelled, “Yes!”
Not very cool, I know.
And I quickly slammed any door I had for negotiating. Fortunately, I was treated pretty well anyway. Now, I tell people (even people I make offers to) not to accept instantly.
A little about the dynamics of hiring: Between the time when a company offers you a job and you accept, you have leverage.
Inside the company, a bunch of people have met and decided that you are the person, out of a handful of candidates, whom they want to hire. The person who makes the call is expected to get your acceptance. They do not want to reconvene, go to the next candidate or re-ignite their search.
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Posted in Talent and Career
Job Search is a catch-all phrase for career hunt. It is composed of career decision-making, research at both the decision-making and campaign phases, resume writing, interviewing, networking, responding to ads, going to headhunters and finally negotiating your salary. The purpose of this article is to make the process as easy to understand as possible, with suggestions and ideas on how to land the position of your choice.
Many people think that landing a new position consists of putting together a resume and looking in the paper under help-wanted. Yes, that is all that some people do, and some of them are successful. But many of them are frustrated. They don’t see the position they want advertised, and therefore figure it doesn’t exist. They wind up in a position – or career — that was available, without taking the time to find just the right thing.
How do you start?
First, what is it that you want to do? Maybe you’re a career changer. Maybe you’re a new college grad. Either way, before you worry about entry vs. mid- or upper-level positions, you need to be clear about what it is you want to do. Try to picture the ideal spot for you. Would you be working inside or out? In the city or the country? In an office or a store? Wearing tailored suits or jeans? Are you managing or producing? Part of a team or working independently? At a computer or on a telephone? Think about what you’re doing now, as well as what you’ve done in the past – what aspects of these positions did you like? What didn’t you like, and why?
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Posted in Talent and Career
The New Year – sure, it’s a time to rejoice, be merry and have some fun, but to some folks it is a time to reflect on their lives, and yes (a big sigh here) that means making the ever popular New Year’s resolutions. The most common resolutions are losing weight, paying off debt, saving money and getting a better job. Try looking beyond the recession and the “doom and gloom” of 2009, and make 2010 a bright new year by kicking your job search into high gear.
“No matter the market conditions, there are always companies looking to hire talented professionals, and those people who are prepared will be best positioned to take advantage of new career opportunities as they are uncovered,” says David Sanford, executive vice president of business development at Winter, Wyman. Sanford says that people should always be looking for a new job (hey, you never know what’s out there unless you’re looking) and that the New Year is a great time to go out and make it happen.
If you want to know how to get yourself noticed and find your dream job during the New Year, follow these 10 tips for 2010.
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Posted in Talent and Career
