Five Job Search Tips to Help You Land Your Next Job

By Scott Gordon

Before the bottom fell out of the global economy it was safe to say that if you had 60 percent to 70 percent of the listed requirements on a job description, you had a decent chance of being hired. Back then, the job market was thin on talent, and some employers found themselves grateful to have found someone who could do the job, albeit someone with partial abilities.

The job market is different now. If you're a job candidate you have to conduct your job search differently.

Job Search Tips

Below are five simple job search tips that will put your job search in the fast lane.

1) Don't apply for jobs that you know you can't do.

If you are a Software Quality Assurance specialist, don't apply for a Senior Director of Regulatory Compliance. Read the job description in full detail and only apply to the positions for which you have the skills. It feels good to send out a bunch of resumes, but going through the motions isn't going to yield faster rewards in your job search.

2) Don't embellish on your resume.

Lying on a resume is more obvious today than it ever was. Don't. Many job seekers think that it's perfectly OK to "fib a little" on a resume. Why do you list it if you know you don't have that job skill? I know why-because if makes your resume look stellar. It adds to the already glowing list of things you've accomplished in your professional career. Psych 101 says that the things you've listed nearest the top of a resume and mentioned multiple times are the things you are most comfortable doing. Many job seekers today are straining to add words and tasks so their resume looks better than their competition. But this is going to come back to haunt you in your job search-so don't do it! Highlight what you are best at, but also come clean when asked about something you have not done. Your candor will get your further.

3) Take a pay cut if you have to. Don't price yourself out of the market just because you think you deserve it more than the next job candidate.

Trying to recover from a previous layoff by overpricing yourself is a bad idea. Assume there are 15 other people applying for the same job. You must, must, must be more aggressive in this market. Pride is the 800 pound gorilla-let go of it and land the job even it means taking a small pay cut. The job candidate who is next in line needs the job more than you. A pay cut will not last forever; and you'll recover from the pay cut and be back to where you were soon enough.

4) Apply once and follow up with an e-mail to confirm receipt.

Sending 28 resumes to the same company won't get you a quicker response than sending one resume. My inbox fills up typically between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. with multiple submissions of resumes from the same job seeker. The additional submissions are deleted. The contact management tools of today are smarter than you think; and if you submit more than once, your resume is automatically deleted. Some job search Web sites won't allow you to submit your resume more than once anyway, so make your first shot your best one. After submitting your resume, send a simple e-mail to the contact asking to confirm receipt. Most of the time, you'll get a reply. If you don't...send another e-mail. Recruiters today are averaging 150 to 300 resume submissions per day from job seekers. It's a lot to dig through and takes time, so be patient.

5) Use a job recruiter.

When I say use, I mean use. Find a reputable job recruitment firm and partner with them. Part of what I tell job candidates during interviews is that we are all in this together. Use their contacts and search with job recruiters instead of sitting at home waiting on a call. If you come across a job listing that fits your job skills, call your job recruiter and ask what he or she knows about the company. There's a better than average chance the recruiter will know someone on the inside who might be able to get you in the door faster.

Word to the wise on a job search: If you don't trust your job recruiter, find another one. This is your career, this is how you put food on the table, and this is how you pay your mortgage-don't waste your time with a job recruiter who's only in it for personal gain.

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Accelerate Your Learning Curve for More Success and Less Stress

by Susan Dunn

Jobs Indonesia,  Careers,  Indonesia Vacancy

Downsizing and technological advances put demands on us to learn more and learn it faster. As support staff and auxiliary positions disappear, job functions are consolidated, teamwork becomes the norm, and computer and other technologies keep proliferating, we are faced with a stressful amount of new things to learn in a diminishing amount of time.

Yet the faster you can learn new things, the more valuable you will be to your employer, and the more likely you’ll be to advance in your Careers. It isn’t an option these days. 

 

WHAT LEARNING CURVES HAVE IN COMMON

What can you do to accelerate your learning curve and increase your value to your employer? The interesting thing is that there are things all learning curves have in common, whether you’re learning how to facilitate team work, learning a new software program, learning a new language, or learning how to negotiate. The better you understand the mechanics of THE learning curve, the better you’ll be able to deal with the individual ones that come along, and this is part of Emotional Intelligence.

 

GETTING RID OF THE FEAR

If you think back on things you’ve learned in the past, you’ll probably realize that one of the things that slowed you down was fear. I can certainly think of examples in my own case.

 

An example of how fear can slow you down is evident if you’ve watched a young child learn how to ski. A child doesn’t fear failure nor success, nor do they fear falling down. New things are an every day occurrence for a child, and this is just the next one. In learning to ski, they fall repeatedly and bounce back like a rubber ball. They consider it all fun. Thus there is nothing slowing down the learning except their ability to master the motor skills. What a relief!

Many of the Emotional Intelligence competencies facilitate learning. One of them is flexibility. The skiing example shows a sort of physical flexibility, but this is applicable to mental tasks as well. We don’t all learn best the same way. You may be sent to a seminar or training that doesn’t fit your learning style. If you’re flexible, and have learned how to learn (the learning curve), you’ll be able to shape things to your own benefit.

 

Take learning a new software program, for instance, something many of us are faced with almost monthly. One person may learn better by reading the manual, while another may do better by being shown. Yet another may be used to the “throw them to the wolves method,” or by hearing a tape or looking at an interactive video on the computer screen.

 

This has to do with your innate learning style which can be discovered through an assessment such as the StrengthsFinder® profile, by working with a coach, or by analyzing your own history. Generally when left to your own devices, you’ll do what comes naturally to you, which will always be the quickest and easiest way for you to learn.

 

LEARNING HISTORIES

A client I’ll call Alicia learned how to type when she was 6 years old. Her mother let her ‘play’ on the family typewriter. By the time she got to high school and took a typing class which attempted to teach her “touch typing,” it was too late to unlearn the old ways, yet she keyboards at over 100. Would anyone complain about the method?

 

Then she took a jobs Indonesia where her boss told her he wanted a newsletter in two weeks, and gave her – wouldn’t you know? – a Mac. Being used to tinkering, she started right in, asking an office mate some pertinent questions, and figuring it out fairly rapidly although she had never touched a computer before. Someone else might have refused that jobs indonesia or demanded lessons.

 

The next job Alicia had she was required to use a PC, and she tackled that on her own as well.

Nick, however, learns best from formal instruction, and then having a manual at his side. It confuses him if someone tries to instruct him sitting by his side or talking to him. He would rather work on his own, in peace and quiet.

Emotional Intelligence starts with self-awareness – knowing your emotions as well as your cognitive abilities, and particularly how they interface. Nick and Alicia were both able to learn computer skills, but they were comfortable in different settings, and it’s emotional “comfort,” that gets rid of the fear and accelerates the learning curve. Learning has a huge emotional component to it that is just now being honored in our schools and in the work place.

 

MOVE RAPIDLY FOR BEST RESULTS

A crucial point is the longer you stay in the confused stage, the more stress you’ll experience. This will reinforce itself, making it harder for you to learn in the future. In essence you’ll be slowing down your learning curve each time.

The faster you learn each thing, the less agony, and the better and faster you’ll learn in the future. It’s a win-win. Your employer wants you to learn fast, and it’s in your best interest to learn fast.

 

Another great benefit is then learning is fun – like the 6 year old learning to ski. This is turn will make you more resilient (the stress-buster for the 00s) because studies have shown that lifetime learning contributes to resilience.

The ability to change rapidly, be flexible and learn quickly are highly valued by today’s employers and reduce your personal stress levels.

These are all Emotional Intelligence competencies you can learn. How? Start with an overview of the field and an assessment of your own Emotional Intelligence (EQ or EI). You can take an interactive Emotional Intelligence course on the Internet, and then work with a certified Emotional Intelligence coach who can provide individual instruction to improve your competencies.

 

Developing your Emotional Intelligence has many benefits. It can accelerate the learning curve because it teaches you correct patterns, makes previous knowledge more accessible, allows for better cognitive functioning, and manages the emotions so they help the process, not hinder it. It can also increase your ability to get the help – and the kind of help – you need from others.

 

Even if faced with learning something completely new, you’ll learn to recognize the steps and feelings that go along with each stage which will eliminate a lot of stress.

 

You’ve taken care of your academic education, but what about your Emotional Intelligence? Take a second look. Many people are finding it to be the missing piece in their Careers plan. 

 

Careers : Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills

by Dorene Lehavi

Jobs Indonesia, Careers, Indonesia Vacancy

1) Listen without judgment. The key to good communication is listening well. Save your judging for later after you have heard and understood what was said.

 

2) Listen with the willingness to be swayed to the other person's opinion. No obligation to actually being swayed, but stay open to the option.

 

3) Listen without thinking about what you will say next. Take time before you respond.

 

4) Do not be invested in being right. Being right is not the point. If you must be right, you are not able to listen nor communicate because you have set up a barrier already. If you are always right that means the other person is always wrong. That cannot be true.

 

5) If your mind wanders, ask for repetition. We all are subject to distraction. Try to stay focused.

 

6) In all cases repeat back what you heard and ask if it is correct.

 

7) Listen to yourself. Find quiet moments and pay attention to what you are hearing from yourself. Does your body tighten up about certain issues. Body language is not something to read only in other people.

 

8) Say it honestly, but with consideration for the listener's feelings. Be polite, respectful and sincere.

 

9) Understand and acknowledge that most things are not black or white, but somewhere in a gray area. Get comfortable with gray.

 

10) Have integrity and build trust. Don't say what you don't mean. Don't promise what you won't or can't fulfill. Follow through with any committments you make.

 

Good listening skills take practice. Specific coaching may be necessary if you find you have communication issues with your boss, colleagues, subordinates, partners or personal relationships.

Indonesia Vacancy : 5 Interviewing Tips To Get That Job

By Marie Roker

Jobs Indonesia, Careers, Indonesia Vacancy

Anyone who is a jobseeker knows that looking for a new job or careers is a job in itself. Once you have completed the laborious task of writing your resume and submitting it to various companies, you now have to pass the screen test to get the job. Interviews are the gateway to landing your ideal job. These five tips will help you get own your way to making that job yours.

 

1. Be Confident

 

Your first impression is your only impression.

Nothing is worse than a limp handshake, slumped shoulders, poor eye contact or poor communication skills. A potential employer can tell immediately if you are the man or woman for this job by your body language. Although aggressiveness is a turn-off, being passive gives the indication that you are not sure of yourself or your qualifications. Keep eye contact when answering questions or when the interviewer is speaking directly to you. Smile occasionally to show your interest and enthusiasm. Keeping a steady gaze on the interviewer can be disturbing to an interviewer. Look away occasionally. Lean forward to show that you are interested in what the interviewer is saying. Speak in a concise and clear voice. If you have problems annunciating certain words, don’t try to use them on an interview. If this is difficult for you, practice with a mirror and pay attention to your facial expressions. Other interview killers: Slouching in a chair, Crossing your arms, Playing with your hair or jewelry, Leaning back in chair

 

2. Act As If

 

You are what you believe.

Act as if you had the job. What would you do if you had this position? How would you act? How would a person in this position act and speak? What are your responsibilities in this position? What is a typical day like for you in this job? Change your attitude towards yourself and your strengths. If you start thinking that you won’t get the job, you will do small unnoticeable things to sabotage your chances. Great free resource: www.confidenceworld.com.

 

3. Know The Company

 

Know the business.

I once sat on a couple of interviews where the interviewees did not do any research on the company. This sends a message that you are looking for any job, not this specific job. Once you’re interview is scheduled, get on the net and start finding out everything you can about the company. A good place to start is www.hoovers.com, which gives you industry information, top competitors, names of CEO, etc. If you’d like to know what current or former employees have to say about the company, try www.wetfeet.com. Beware of disgruntled postings. Call the company headquarters and ask for the marketing department to get specific information. Weave your research into the interview by stating. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal, which mentioned that your company is thinking about XYZ. This lets the interviewer know that you have taken the time to know more about the company. You can ask questions about something you read, but don’t challenge them or you’ll come across as a know-it-all.

 

4. Be Prepared

 

Know what to say.

Most interviewers ask the same standard questions about your strengths, weaknesses, former employers, work history. If you are being interviewed by several people, this might be a good cop, bad cop situation. Pay attention to who is playing bad cop, they are looking for signs of weakness and dishonesty. To be well prepared, before the interview, write out all your accomplishments, both personal and professional. List your strengths and weaknesses. Be honest, it’s easier to remember the truth than it is a lie. Extra Tip: Write out situations in which you have demonstrated: leadership skills, determination, stress management, creativity, and flexibility. Be prepared to answer the question: Why do you want this job? If you’re not sure, reevaluate your decision. If you arrive a few minutes early, review what you wrote in the waiting room before the interview.

   

5. Ask For The Job

 

You get what you ask for.

The most important step in the interviewing process is one most people miss. ASK FOR THE JOB! Most interviewers are waiting for that closure. If you have done everything exceptionally well during the interviewing process, but have not asked for the job, you’ve just wasted an interview. Asking for the job shows the potential employer that you are assertive, confident and right for the job. It might feel uncomfortable, but this is your only chance to ask for something you really want. Make sure your voice is firm and you make eye contact. Think of it as your closing argument, you’ve got to win over the jury. You should also ask the interviewer if he or she thinks you are right for the job. Even if they tell you something unpleasant, think of it as a lesson learned. However, do yourself a favor and ask for the job. You deserve it!