Why isn’t your resume being read?

Job hunting over the years has really changed dramatically. It used to be that you would look in newspaper for a job or ask a friend or relative if they knew of any openings. Now that the World Wide Web is the center of all communication, newspapers for the most part are out of date.  You now have to search the job sites and social media sites for opening along with networking other folks in the field that you want to work in. one thing that hasn’t changed is having a resume, whether it is a hard copy or in electronic form.  It is your introduction to a potential employer and unfortunately many resumes are skipped over, is yours one of them?

Common problems with resumes

Quite often folks don’t put down their accomplishments on resumes. They end up with a general list of jobs without showing that what you had done to make the company better.  Be specific and truthful and show everyone what you have done.

• Double check your spelling and grammar, don’t let careless mistakes end any chance of getting an interview.
• Make the resume readable.  The style shouldn’t be dense and it should give the appearance that it looks easy to read.
• There are a lot of opinions about what color the paper should be.  White, off-white or even ivory are good choices and don’t buy cheap paper.

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Communication skills and job hunting

Often times we overlook some of the most important skills that you have or that you should have. If you are looking for any kind of jobs with information technology then you should be extremely comfortable around pcs and networks which is a good idea but there are other skills that one doesn’t always think about, such as communication skills. Being able to communicate and get your point across is invaluable in just about any field that you can think of.

Why do folks overlook this important skill?

Every career has specific skills that have to be mastered unfortunately we concentrate on the narrow basic skills of an industry and ignore the one that might be the most important one, communications. Whether it is speaking to a client or a fellow employee or writing an email, how you present yourself is very important. You probably know of some folks that you have worked with who were terrific at their job but they didn’t have the “people skills” to get along with others. If you are working on a team or in a group this can be critical issue if there is a lack of communication.

Show your communication skills at the interview

The best way to show off your communication skills is at the job interview. If you present yourself in a way that shows you can demonstrate good listening skills and are adept at expressing yourself then you will definitely have an advantage over other job candidates.

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Are you sure that you want the fastest growing careers?

During a recession like this one finding any job is quite an accomplishment even if it isn’t exactly what you want to do. Maybe the job was in a field that is considered “hot” and the future looks pretty good for it too. But what if you don’t like the job? Are you telling yourself that you work there till something else comes up that you really like? That can be a dilemma.

I’m not saying that you should turn down work even if it isn’t what you really want. The thing that I am saying is to look exhaustively for the job that you want as a career, even if there isn’t a lot of hiring going on in that field. If you can get another job then that’s great but still keep looking for the work that you really want. A lot of times people settle for things because they think that what they really want is too far out of their grasp.  They become complacent and would rather stay at a job that they might be bored to death doing rather than taking a chance at fulfilling a goal. The longer that you wait to go for what you really want the harder it gets to obtain it.

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Why didn’t you get the job?

So you finally got that interview with the one company that you really wanted to work for. You dressed appropriately, you practiced your interview questions and you know as much as possible about the company.  After the interview you feel pretty good about your chances so you wait for the phone call for a second interview. It doesn’t come but a form rejection letter arrives telling you that you didn’t get the job. What happened? You felt like you were perfect for the job and you thought that you did the right things, so what went wrong?

In all aspects of job hunting you can learn something that will help you later on, whether it is on networking or resumes and even when you are on a failed interview there is also something that you can take away from it.  That’s not to say that you need to beat yourself up over the fact that you didn’t get the job and you certainly shouldn’t dwell on it either. But you have to understand or at least think about what could have gone wrong or maybe it wasn’t you it could be that another person was just more qualified.

One thing that you should do is ask the interviewer for feedback (and don’t forget to send a thank you not for the interview also). The usual reasons for not getting the job such as not being qualified or being too qualified occur often. But it also may be the way you dressed or acted during the interview that eliminated you. So definitely ask the interviewer the worse he could say is no.

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What is Reemployment?

Even with the economy starting to pick up again there are still folks that are being laid off.  According to the Department of Labor there was still mass layoff actions involving 118,000 workers in March. The number of workers being laid off has been going down but as you can see there are still many workers without jobs.  If you are unfortunate enough to be in that number what is your first step to take after being laid off?  You should take a look at the Reemployment.org.

Whenever you are put in a perplexing and emotionally draining situation like losing your job it is tough to think about what you should do. The Reemployment website from the government site Career one stop can be a great help in getting you through a tough time.

The first step that the site will guide you through is applying for unemployment. You will be given information on whether you are eligible and on how to apply for it.  This site will also be helpful later on if your benefits run out and you still haven’t found a job.

The reemployment site is also a great source of job search help and tips. The department of labor has a large library of job information that will be beneficial to your job hunt.

The employer locator tool is great at finding local employers who are hiring.

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