How to spot a job that is not right for you

Felix Tarcomnicu, CEO and Founder of ResumeOK.com

We work approximately a quarter of our lives.  So isn’t it important that we at least like our jobs?  It makes sense that we should.  However, many people go through their careers hating their jobs, and just going through the motions everyday just to earn that paycheck every two weeks.  Don’t be one of those people.  Instead, find a career that you enjoy and find a job that is a good fit for you.  But identifying a job or career you love takes time.  But in the meantime, you should do as much as possible to avoid jobs that you know are not for you.  How do you do that?  Here are five ways to go about identifying a job that might not be for you.  Use this list to check if it aligns with your values and cross-reference it with any jobs you might want to apply for, or currently have. Continue Reading

Recruiter’s Advice: 5 Things Employers Look for in Entry-Level Job Candidates

Dunya Carter

A fresh graduate is always intimidated when going in for his or her first real job interview, and many feel that no matter what they apply for they are woefully unprepared and unqualified – especially in this economy, when even jobs advertised as entry level are apparently seeking years of experience. But regardless of how many flourishes are requested in the help wanted ad, many employers are really looking for a few basic things for entry level positions, and all of them are more than attainable for the new worker. Continue Reading

Saving Money On An Entry-Level Salary

Have you just started an entry level job and want to learn how to save some money?  The following post has ways to help you create savings on an entry level salary.

Let us pretend for a moment that entry-level salaries provide a living wage. In order to write a piece on saving, I need to assume you have enough income to save. If you are struggling to meet your basic necessities like food, …

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Saving Money On An Entry-Level Salary | HER AGENDA

Your First Job Search: Where To Start

Are you ready to land that entry level job after graduation, but not sure where to start?  The following post will help you begin your job search.

Your first job search post-college can be intimidating. In fact, many recent college graduates don’t even know where to start. But getting started on your job search doesn’t have to be the intimidating task many make it out to be. Remember, recent college graduates don’t have to have

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Your First Job Search: Where To Start

7 Things Not to Do After Graduation

If there’s one thing you can count on after college graduation it is that there will be a long line of people waiting to give you career advice. However, their advice usually revolves around what you should do after you graduate, but there’s plenty of advice on what not to do after school.

Some of us are better prepared for real life after college. Students who earn a professional degree (i.e. engineering, education, nursing, accounting, etc) or who get their first job through a college internship usually have an easier road to travel after they walk across the stage with their diploma. The rest of us, though, often need a little more time to get our careers off the ground.

This extra time can be both a blessing and a curse for recent grads. It is a blessing, because it’s an opportunity to find your best career route. It is a curse, because anxiety and fear about the future can lead to the following post-graduation no-no’s. Continue Reading

What’s Beauty Have to Do With It?

I think it’s fair to say that most of us care about our personal appearances. We spend time and money everyday prepping to look our best. One place we like to dress to impress is at work, but do some of us have ulterior motives? According to one magazine article, there may be an advantage to being physically attractive in today’s workplace, but why?

In the article, there is reference to a survey conducted by the magazine, which offers some idea of how hiring managers view personal appearance. Here are a couple of results:

• 57% of hiring managers surveyed said that unattractive candidates are likely to have a harder time finding jobs

• 59% of hiring managers surveyed said they would advise job candidates to spend as much money on looks as on their resumes

These results are alarming, right? Imagine being an entry level job candidate competing for a position and in the back of your mind wondering whether you will be treated as a serious candidate or a piece of eye candy. I believe most candidates understand the importance of appearance as part of the package employers are looking for. However, candidates should make sure that their appearances reflect professional images that won’t distract employers from the substance they have to offer.

It’s no secret that people are attracted to people who are well-groomed, but remember looks aren’t everything. At the end of the day, most employers want to hire the most qualified candidates for entry level jobs and other positions.

Information provided by Jessica Bennett.

Source
Newsweek Magazine – July 26, 2010

Key Areas to Explore in Your Job Search

Whether you’re an entry level job seeker or someone who is unemployed, the competition for jobs is stiff. One magazine article talks about five key areas that job seekers should focus on to improve their chances of getting hired. The people I read about were out of work, unfilled in their previous jobs, or passed over for a position, but each person persevered by emphasizing one of these areas in their job searches, which led them to new opportunities.

Here are five key areas that can offer an advantage to anyone on the hunt for a job.

Your Resume – The goal of a resume is to get an interview, so structure it to sell your skills and qualifications for a specific job.

Your Network – According to the magazine article, over 80% of job leads come from personal connections. You can establish relationships with people by learning of their interests; maintain those relationships through interaction to stay up-to-date on any news that is relevant to you and your network.

Your Skill-Set – When looking at various job opportunities, determine if the job descriptions fit your abilities. If not, but you find something of interest, think about some additional education and/or training for a particular position. For example, an entry level job seeker might consider internship opportunities to learn more about different fields.

Your Profile – Sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know. Perhaps you’re the most qualified person for the job, but no one knows who you are. One way to gain some visibility is to create a profile on a social media website. By doing so, you can communicate your professional interests, and even share a personal side of yourself, which could lead to networking opportunities as a job seeker.

Your Flexibility – With so much competition for jobs, getting or keeping a job may come down to what you are willing to do. Factors may involve relocating or even taking a pay cut in order to work. Weigh all of the factors and then make the decision that is best for you.

Information provided by Annya M. Lott, Brittany Hutson, Renita Burns, LaToya M. Smith, and Marcia Wade Talbert.

Source
Black Enterprise Magazine – July 2010

Don’t Just Read My Resume, Watch It

Are video resumes really just a “fad” or are they here to stay?
Writing resumes is tough because the days of being able to send out one-size-fits-all resumes and land entry level job interviews are long gone. Now, for a candidate to even be considered, he must tailor each resume to fit each employer. It’s a lot more work, but it’s worth it if it can get a candidate’s foot in the door for an interview.
There are gimmicks and formatting tricks galore that experts disagree on regularly in terms of their effectiveness. The latest, and possibly most controversial, resume trend is the video resume. Some people think they’re great, some think they’re a mistake and some think they’re a fad that will eventually go away … like rap music.
“If a candidate is insistent on using video, I suggest doing so either in lieu of an in-person interview (if everyone else is at the same stage) or as a follow-up. They can be great, but candidates have to remember that a lot of times employers are unable to view them,” said professional resume writer and chief of staff for The Grammar Doctors, Amanda Collins.

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Tech Savvy Recruiters Use SMS to Connect With Desired Candidates

Today’s world is becoming increasingly technologically driven and fast paced. Everywhere you look you can see young people with their heads down, staring at 3×2 inch screens, their thumbs punching with fury at the little keys on their cell phones. They are engaging in an increasingly popular means of communicating: SMS or text messaging.
One of the benefits exclusive to text messaging, rather than email, is the ability to reach a person almost immediately, as most people have their cell phones on them and are ready to answer all day, any day! SMS messaging is a quick and efficient way of keeping in touch with friends and family and even handling business. In fact, employers have begun to catch on and are even using text messaging for recruitment of entry level job and internship candidates. After all, what better way is there to reach today’s generation of graduating college students?
This has proven to be an excellent way for employers to reach out to prospective employees, and start a working relationship. As many companies have begun using SMS recruitment, they have learned that this can be very effective when used in conjunction with other recruitment methods such as: on-campus job fairs, online job postings, and on-campus interviews. The important thing to remember about SMS recruitment, is that it is meant to be a means of starting the communication between employers and prospective employees or interns. It will still be necessary for job seekers to submit their resumes online and set up interviews either by telephone, or the traditional face-to-face contact. While SMS recruitment has proven to work for many companies and organizations, it is important to remember that the purpose is to simply generate awareness about your company and its opportunities for college students and recent grads, not replace other traditional means of interacting with prospective applicants.
Article authored by a freelance writer

Want to Reach More Candidates Faster? Try Text Messages.

Recruiters are always looking for effective ways of recruiting. The best recruitment method is the one that offers both effectiveness and low cost. By effectiveness I mean the recruitment information should be delivered to as many relevant people as possible. And by low cost I mean the method should cost as little as possible. Historically recruiters have used newspaper, TV and the Internet as their methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages; however, the major underlying reasons for using these methods are their degree of pervasiveness. When people read more newspapers than other media, newspaper is the most effective way of recruitment. When people spend more time accessing the Internet than reading newspapers and watching TV, Internet becomes the most effective way.
Today, most people use mobile phones every day, and mobile communications is becoming an essential part of everyday life. Naturally, the use of mobile phones should be incorporated into the recruiter’s plan, and recruitment based on mobile phones should be considered seriously as an alternative to traditional recruitment methods. There are different ways to use mobile phones for recruitment, and the text messaging is a relatively new way and has high potential to become the new frontier where effective recruitment is conducted. Whether you are looking for internship or entry level job candidates or senior job candidates, text messaging can help you achieve the goal effectively and inexpensively.
There are several advantages with using text messaging for recruitment.

• First, the cost is less. Today’s major mobile carriers all have certain flat-rate texting plans. With a flat fee, you can send unlimited text messages.
• Second, the response rate of using text messages is generally higher than using other means such as emails.
• Third, it is typically more effective in the sense that the receivers are more likely to pay attention to the information received.

The major disadvantage associated with this new method is the concern that most mobile users treat their mobile phones as a means to communicate with close friends and family members. When receiving advertisement-like information, they tend to be annoyed. To address such concerns, appropriate filtering and classification techniques need to be applied both on the sender and receiver sides.
Article written by a freelance writer