It's a JUNGLE out there...whether you are hiring or looking for a job.
Come and share your positive ideas about job change, employment trends, workplace issues and more. You'll find it all in the Job Search Jungle!

Like JobSearchJungle on Facebook!



 
-

The Rhodesian Ridgeback – Keeping Mobile Can Keep You from Harm

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Jun 11, 2013 in Career Path, Self Improvement

Bookmark and Share

RidgebackThe Rhodesian Ridgeback is a beautiful animal that is used to hunt lions and other prey in Africa. They have great speed and are built for agility. The Ridgeback will use hit-and-run tactics wearing down its target while the hunter closes in for the kill. By keeping yourself mobile, you too can keep yourself from being harmed in a proverbial sense. Rely on your own fancy footwork in order to prevent from being laid-off or outright fired.

1. Agility – Using superior agility, the Rhodesian Ridgeback will attack its prey from various locations by moving around it. As the metabolism of this canine is extremely high, this animal can wear down prey due to exhaustion from trying to keep up. Each attack is meant to weaken until it can no longer fight against the onslaught of speed and agility. You should view your work ethics in the same manner.

By keeping yourself motivated to try new aspects of the company, you can keep yourself in high regards to management. By taking on several tasks bit at a time, you can eventually learn a new skill that will put you that much higher on the totem pole of employment. The more versatile you are, the more valuable you are.

2. Speed – Although not as fast as the Greyhound, a Rhodesian Ridgeback can show great demonstrations of speed. Few canines are as fast as this animal on a dead run which allows them to hit their prey fast while giving the necessary speed to evade being attacked themselves. If a battle goes badly, the Ridgeback can easily escape in many situations.

Your speed should be equally as great when it comes to your career. If an opportunity presents itself, you need to be able to snatch it up as quickly as possible. If you are too slow, someone else could easily take your place. If a co-worker is putting the company in jeopardy with poor decisions, you need to distance yourself from that project as quickly as possible and wait for reinforcements to arrive. If that co-worker will not listen to reason, there is no sense involving yourself in the situation.

3. Metabolism – Although the Rhodesian Ridgeback has an extremely high metabolism, the canine has an eating disorder. They will consume every morsel of food regardless if they are hungry or not. This can be detrimental to the breed’s endearing qualities and consumption needs to be monitored in order to remain healthy.

Biting off more than you can chew can put yourself in jeopardy as well. Unlike the Ridgeback, you have the ability to determine when too much is too much. Taking on various tasks is one thing, but you can put your career at risk if you’re in over your head. Be realistic to yourself and your career and not take on tasks that are beyond your capabilities.

Few employers want to hire someone who is good at their job but not interested in pursuing greater aspects within the company. Those who are lazy and uncaring about the greater whole of the location could find themselves on the chopping block when it comes time to let someone go. Even if there are those who are more skilled at a single aspect of the task, those that perform extra duties and are willing to learn more are still the last to be let go. Keep your attacks at life balanced and frequent, for the Rhodesian Ridgeback knows that slow reflexes will equal elimination.

This guest post was contributed by Ken Myers. Ken is the founder of  http://www.longhornleads.com/.

If you have a great idea for a jungle-themed post, let us know! Guest writers or requests are always welcome!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

 
-

The Social Wolf – Planning Your Career Pack With Social Media

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on May 22, 2013 in Career Path, Job Search, Self Improvement

Bookmark and Share

How to Utilize Social Media Effectively in Your CareerWolf

Wolves live predominantly in packs to search for food, raise pups, and defend hunting territory. When a wolf leaves their birth pack, it could be in order to join a new pack that may not have as many members or packs that have better opportunities in the hierarchy. Sometimes the searching wolf may even establish their own pack. If a wandering wolf doesn’t find the right pack, it is usually possible to return to their birth pack. Wolves may cover a large area and travel long distances in search of the perfect fit and it often seems to be a hit or miss process. Social media networking can take much of the guess work out of finding your career pack.

People have always looked for ways to interact with their colleagues in order to develop a way of getting a step above the other competitors in their career. Many social networking websites that represent digital social media like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and others present an excellent way of not only staying close to your friends but at the same time offer various growth opportunities for one’s career. Let’s see how social media can help you in your career by allowing you to stay connected with professionals in the community.

How social media works to boost your career

Websites that focus on maintaining and managing one’s professional networks, like LinkedIn, utilize social networking software and principally work on the concept of managing and gathering multi-tiered contacts. “First connections” are those individuals with whom you have a direct connection, as in a co-worker or friend, and the further tiers, such as second or third connections, are professionals that are in your network sphere as a result of having relationships with your direct connections. An individual needs to become a registered user of the website in order to benefit from it. However, once registration is completed, that person can interact with thousands of professionals of the same or different fields as well as maintaining and managing a chain of direct professional connections.

With such career oriented social media websites one can look at companies in their respective fields and even apply for relevant jobs in order to plan a career move. This can be a great benefit to the individuals who are either looking to move companies or researching the first job in their career. Job seekers and employees are not limited by geographical boundaries, but only their own network. These websites realize the importance of personal branding in a job search and hence, suggest their users develop appropriate profiles which can help them represent their accomplishments, strengths, skills and academics to their potential employers or clients. Developing a personal brand with these social sites can make the professional a more valuable asset for the company they work for, their own enterprise, and for the potential employers as well.

Social media has evolved as a great advancement in social networking that boosts professional networking activities and career management for people in a resourceful manner. This electronic way of person-to-person networking is quite an effective marketing tool, which an individual can utilize to market his/ her professional skills. These social media platforms allow any individual to manage his/her own future and career just with a click of a mouse. These have made the professional connections and interconnections possible which grow into a wonderful professional web community. Not only does it offer career prospects, but professional discussions through forums and groups enable individuals to continue to learn many new things pertaining to their field or career.

The social media platforms have revolutionized career development for self management, personal and professional empowerment, as well as networking. It would not be wrong to say that one can indeed utilize the social media effectively for his/her career as it is a valuable way for building professional brand statement in the long run and for finding appropriate opportunities in their career.

Don’t be the lone wolf wandering aimlessly, research a pack with social media and develop the connections to move forward in your career.

This guest post was contributed by Patrick S. Patrick has been recently employed by a professional research paper writing service at SolidEssay.com, where he helps students fine tune their research papers and other academic work.

If you have a great idea for a jungle-themed post, let us know! Guest writers or requests are always welcome!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
-

The Monkey – Take A Survey!

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Nov 29, 2012 in Career Path, Self Improvement

Bookmark and Share

Social Media. Social Networking. These are the two hot buttons around these days. How can you use these tools to reach the high performing/high potential candidates that make the best employees? Imagine if you could reach the best people faster, before your competition snaps them up.

We are currently conducting a confidential international research study to learn how people who have been identified as high performers/high potential employees use social media and social networking. Our goal is to gain clarity around where these people are spending their time online in order that employers can more effectively interact with them via social media.

We are conducting online surveys with high performing employees to learn:

  • how they receive their daily news;
  • what they are reading on a personal and business level and how they access and obtain that information;
  • what they do for continuing professional education;
  • how these individuals network on a professional level and what their level of engagement is;
  • how these individuals interact with their personal friends;
  • what they do when they are bored;
  • what sources they use to find jobs;
  • how these individuals share information;
  • what they think about their current employer;
  • how they feel their employer could better position themselves in the market;
  • their top business concerns and what type of research could be done to help resolve these issues;
  • who they consider an expert in their filed and the reasons why; and how do they follow those individuals?

If you would like to participate and receive a complimentary copy of the white paper we ask that you send the link below to any number of people you know that have been promoted within the past 18 months and/or whom you consider to be a high potential/high performer. We estimate that the survey will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. If you reply “yes!” in the comments we can send you the results after they are compiled in January.

The survey will close in one week so please send it out as soon as you can.  We appreciate your help in our research!

The survey can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HWHZXMT

Thank you!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
-

The Squirrel – Bargain Hunting in the Jungle

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Nov 21, 2012 in Career Path, Executive Coaching

Bookmark and Share

Squirrel2As the holiday shopping rush starts, it has dawned on many that the New Year is now just a few short weeks away. It’s that time of the year to grab a moment and simply take stock of what you’ve done well this year, what you want to improve upon for next year, and set goals. Most importantly, it’s resume update time!

Many people don’t take the time to update their resumes annually which creates a monumental chore when you suddenly need it (job change, promotion, bio, etc.). As we all rush through the malls and stores on Black Friday trying to get in the bulk of our Holiday shopping, think about another way you will be able to save during this season. Instead of wracking your memory for accomplishments from the previous 5 or ten years and taking days or weeks to pull your polished resume together when it is needed, make updating your resume a part of your holiday list. It is so much easier to keep things in perspective and keep track of what you have contributed year over year if you have an annually designated time to update. This year’s accomplishments might not be as significant as next year’s but it can become more difficult to remember details of projects as your work evolves. Making note of these things every year will save you time and worry. Time is money, so save yourself both by being prepared.

Just as squirrels collect and store nuts so they’ll have food to last through winter, you can stockpile your accomplishments in your resume every winter. TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME is a convenient source for you to download from Amazon.com with real life examples of how to organize your resume in order to find the PERFECT JOB.  A good job description with your specific accomplishments listed under each role showing what you have made, saved or achieved will give future readers of your document a great picture of not only what you have done but what you can do for them if they hired you.  Use numbers, specifics, percentages, etc. to quantify your contributions. Definitely note any special awards or accolades you may have received.

Try answering these questions:

  • What change occurred in my company this year and how was I involved in that?
  • How has my department and/or role evolved this year?
  • What were the major projects I worked on and how did they affect the division/ company’s performance?

Year end is also time to make sure you have completed your necessary CPE (continuing professional education). If you have earned licenses, keep your continuing education current so you aren’t scrambling to find classes that will meet your needs at the last minute.

The squirrels who have gathered the most nuts will be prepared for any kind of winter, so follow their example and you won’t have to go nuts to catch up!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

 
3

The Underbrush – New Nannies Navigating The Jungle

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Oct 16, 2012 in Career Path, Job Search, Thinking Positive

Bookmark and Share

In a jungle there are many layers. The top layer is the canopy, where birds flutter from treetop to treetop. A little farther down are the branches. They are a bit harder to move through but still navigable. Then you get to the lower layer. Shadowed by the treetops overhead and tangled with underbrush, this layer is full of snares and entanglements that can trip you up.

The job market is like a jungle. You have the top layer of well-educated and experienced job searchers who seem to flit and fly from job to job landing where they please. Then you have the middle layer of individuals who are either well-educated but not experienced or experienced but not well educated. These job seekers have a little bit of climbing as they grasp and swing from branch to branch collecting experience and education. Then you come to the bottom layer. This layer can contain job seekers who may only have a basic education, little or no experience, or have decided to change fields and are starting from scratch. It is the most difficult layer to navigate and not for the faint-hearted explorers. Experience will come with time and many in this layer are also pursing higher education, but challenging and rewarding employment opportunities may seem few. Someone on this path in the jungle who loves children may want to consider becoming a nanny. You get to spend time one-on-one with a child and really get to know them.

Being a nanny is very different then working in a day care facility or even as a teacher. You get to spend time with one child or maybe a couple of children inside their home, where they feel comfortable. Typically, nannies are also paid more than a day care worker depending on the number of children they supervise and the family. But how do you become a nanny?

Nannies do not generally need any special qualifications. A degree, for instance, is not necessary to get started. What you do need, however, is a clean criminal and driving record. If you are or wish to be certified in CPR or other childcare related things such as early education, it is certainly helpful but not necessary.

The lives of many nannies involve traveling the world and making money. Some nannies vacation with families while others look specifically for work overseas. Job seekers who enjoy children and are interested in exploring can take steps to prepare themselves for a career as a nanny.

1.Consider Your Skills

Nannying seems similar to babysitting, but parents take the job very seriously. You should list all qualifications that make you capable of caring for a child like your educational background, volunteering experience or aspects in your personal life. Miscellaneous jobs and hobbies may also be relevant. If you know how to play an instrument or had a job cooking, then your experiences can add value. Taking the initiative and being CPR certified or learning a families’ native language also shows you are serious.

2. Applying

Taking the time to consider your skills and build the strongest resume helps for the next step. The easiest way to find opportunities is to join an online agency. Nanny boards appeal to families because they usually require ID verification and a background check. You can search through families and apply to good fits, and many sites cater specifically to opportunities abroad. Applications will vary, but most will require a resume, personal statement and references. Agencies usually charge a fee. Ensure the site you choose is easy to navigate and can send applications to as many available jobs as possible.

3. The Fine Print

When vacationing with a family or residing in a new country to nanny, various details should be considered. Find out if you have to pay for airfare, dining, or other expenses. If residing in a country, research the specific requirements for work visas and nannying. Pay rates may be different than what you are used to in foreign countries. You may also be paid less if the family provides accommodations. Not all nanny jobs are lucrative, but you are given spending money and a chance to visit foreign locations.

4. Meet The Family

Impressing the parents with an application and interview sets you on the right track. However, the real challenge is meeting the child. Communicate honestly with parents because you may not meet the child before traveling. You and the parents will have to decide if your personality and skills will work well with the child. You may have plans, but do not be afraid to make changes. Start friendly and tailor your approach to the child’s attitude. It may take time for them to see you as an authority and trust you.

Patience, adaptability and determination are crucial when nannying overseas because you cannot back out easily. Considering your skills, researching, and finding and communicating with families that you work well with will make the process rewarding.

To look for a nanny job close to home, simply contact a local agency or go online to a site like enannysource.com or nannypro.com. There you will be walked through the application process and your resume and application will be seen by families in your area that are looking for a nanny. If you have any previous childcare experience, like babysitting or even taking care of younger family members, that is a plus. Parents also love multi-lingual nannies.

Being a nanny can mean different things to different people, so be very clear on what your expectations are and what the parents expect from you. Some nannies also do light housework, like picking up after the kids, or even some tutoring. It all depends on what the parents want and what you are willing and able to do.

Being a nanny can be an extremely rewarding job. If you love children, then you may want to look into becoming a nanny.

This guest post was contributed by Ken Myers. Ken is an Expert Advisor on multiple household help issues to many organizations and groups, and is a mentor for other “Mom-preneurs” seeking guidance.  He is a regular contributor of www.gonannies.com.  You can get in touch with him at kmyers.ceo @gmail.com

If you have a great idea for a jungle-themed post, let us know! Guest writers or requests are always welcome!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
-

The Chimpanzee – Social Tips For Internship Survival

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Jul 10, 2012 in Career Path

Bookmark and Share

“5 Tips for Impressing Your Boss at an Internship”

In the African jungle, chimpanzees groom each other daily to solidify bonds with other community members. In the corporate jungle, helping out your co-workers during an internship can also help you develop relationships and improve your chances of survival.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, as the economy improves paid internships are on the rise. However, whether you are interning for a salary or for the learning experience, the relationships you develop at an internship will lead to valuable references and recommendations for the next steps in your career. Of all of these relationships, the one that you have with your boss is probably the most important. So how do you make the most of that opportunity? Here are five tips for impressing your boss at an internship.

1. Act like an employee.

One of the biggest mistakes interns make is acting as though an internship is just something that they are required to do. To make the most of your internship, whether it is paid or not, pick out the most positive cues that full-time employees are giving and follow them. For example, dress like others in the office even if the dress code for interns is more relaxed; offer to take a turn and bring in a treat if the office you’re working in has a snack day; or re-fill the coffee machine or copier as often as you can if it’s a shared responsibility. Make yourself part of the team and show that you have the savvy to fit into the environment of the workplace.

2. Keep busy – even when there is no work to do.

Since even a paid intern isn’t likely to be making as much as a full-time employee, managers often assign tasks to full-time employees first. By the end of the week, this might mean that there is no work for you to do. You should always ask your manager first if there is something to be done, but if there isn’t any work or your manager isn’t available, see what you can do besides surfing the internet. If the office plants need dusting or the shared copy room needs tidying, lend a hand. Offering to do filing for employees who seem to be drowning at their desks or just an extra hand to put together marketing packets will get you noticed as someone who is proactive and motivated. Even if your offers are not needed at the moment, advertising that you are available and enthusiastic will leave a great impression.

3. Be yourself.

When you leave your internship, you want others to remember you as a person, not as the temporary summer intern. The best way to make an impression is to be yourself, and not try to be someone else for the sake of impressing others. Be friendly, discuss common interests, and don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone you haven’t met yet. They could be a valuable reference.

4. Keep a positive attitude.

Interns have a unique place in the office hierarchy, and occasionally this can engender bad feelings. For instance, a manager might assign a project to an intern that a full-time employee wanted to work on. This isn’t any fault of the intern’s, but it isn’t as though the intern can re-assign the project to the employee who wanted it, either. When office conflicts like these come up, it’s best to keep a positive attitude and not get caught up in recriminations. The worst thing you can do is be remembered as the intern who couldn’t rise above office politics.

5. End with a thank you.

Whether or not you learned anything impressive during your internship, if you want to encourage your boss to remember you in a positive light you should make an effort to thank him or her before your departure. Save the thank you letter for your next job interview; schedule a face to face meeting with your manager and let him or her know what you learned because of their leadership and direction. At this stage, it’s okay to exaggerate a little – for instance, if your manager tried to teach you something but you ended up having to ask someone else for further clarification, go ahead and give your manager the credit. On the same note, you can also let your manager know who else really helped you. Giving out such kudos will definitely help your manager remember you later, as the intern who made the most of the opportunity and wasn’t afraid to give credit where credit was due. You might even get called back for the next open full-time position.

This guest post was contributed by Laura McPherson. Laura writes for Masters in Accounting, a career resource for learning about getting started in the accounting career field.

If you have a great idea for a jungle-themed post, let us know! Guest writers or requests are always welcome!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
2

The Predator – Watch out for Exploitative Internships

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Jun 21, 2012 in Career Path, Lessons Learned

Bookmark and Share

For those who are still in college or just now graduating, the saying, “It’s a jungle out there,” is truer now more than ever. One of the many options that students or recent graduates flock to in lieu of full- or even part-time employment is the unpaid internship. Don’t get me wrong—internships, especially in certain hard-to-break-into industries like journalism, are often the only way to get your foot in the door. But in hard economic times, it’s not uncommon for companies and businesses to offer internships that are either exploitative, technically illegal, or some combination of both. Here’s what you should watch out for to avoid becoming the prey of shady internship programs:

1.      Ask former interns about their experiences; don’t join an internship program blind.

Thanks to the Internet, there’s plenty of information out there about both good and bad internships. Sometimes a simple Google search will suffice. You can also look into websites that rank and review internships, like Vault.com. Whatever you do, try to get in personal touch with a former intern—either through email, on the phone, or in-person—so that you understand from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, what the internship is really like.

2.      You should not be asked to do the same work in amount and kind as a full-time worker.

What makes an internship illegal is getting paid nothing to conduct “essential work.” Essential work is basically a full set of tasks that a full-time employee who gets paid does on a daily basis. Internships are essentially a networking opportunity combined with a few diverse tasks to give you a better idea of what the company or organization does as a whole. If you’re being asked to do essential work, then you’re working for a company that’s breaking the law. For more information about the legality of unpaid internships, check out this article.

3.      Always first seek out paid internships. They do exist.

Of course, the vast majority of internships are unpaid. But you’d be surprised by how many internships are out there that do pay, even if it’s not very much. Paid internships tend to be more serious in the nature of the work you’ll be doing, and they’re more affordable.

4.      There are definite alternatives to unpaid internships. You just have to know where to look.

Although many of my friends and relatives have had internships, and I’ve counseled younger people who’ve participated in good internships, I’ve never done unpaid work in my life beyond extracurricular volunteer work. When I graduated from college and couldn’t find work, I instead took on freelance projects as a writer and consultant. These (paid) projects can be just as rewarding as internships. You’ll establish connections that can lead to full-time work, you’ll learn the basics of various industries, and you’ll be getting paid to boot. So while internships can be wonderful experiences, you don’t absolutely need them to get your foot in the door.

In virtually every industry, there are predators out there. Don’t be their victim. Do your research and choose internships wisely. Good luck!

This guest post was contributed by Barbara Jolie. Barbara is a full time freelance writer and blogger in the Houston area. She enjoys writing about education and the advantages of online classes for all students. If you have any questions email Barbara at barbara.jolie876 @gmail.com.

If you have a great idea for a jungle-themed post, let us know! Guest writers or requests are always welcome!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
2

The Tree Rings – Aging In The Jungle

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Apr 26, 2012 in Career Path, Job Search

Bookmark and Share

Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, is a method of dating based on analysis of the patterns of tree-rings. Not only can the age of trees be determined, but other variables can be inferred from tree rings such as past climates. The older the tree, the more knowledge can be gleaned from their unique patterns.

I get a lot of questions from people who are in their fifties needing advice about job search, career change, and what types of jobs are good for people over 50.  We wrote about why companies might want to hire people with more experience rather than less in the past but my husband read a recent article from the Washington Post and that, combined with the 60 Minutes tribute to Mike Wallace, shed new light on this subject for me. 

Did you know Mike Wallace didn’t even start with 60 Minutes until he was over 50?  For 37 years he was a trailblazer of news magazine programming and had an amazing career there, whether you agreed with his style and conclusions or not.  He is a shining example of how to take your experience in a new direction rather than retiring in the traditional way as you approach this part of your life.

Many people who are looking for work later in their careers have become accustomed to traditional employee/employer relationships because that is what they have always had.  Long gone are the days of our parents and grandparents when they were able to retire with a solid pension and live a relatively stress free retirement.   

Becoming a consultant in your field is an excellent opportunity for people faced with unexpected job change at latter stages of their careers. Now is the time where their expertise can lend itself quite nicely to assisting others with their own learning and growth paths while continuing to grow their own rings of experience.

Many start ups are seeking part time CFOs and COOs to help them grow, and local chapters of The Service Core of Retired Executives (www.score.org) can help.  I have seen many volunteers get snapped up into part time positions, in some cases full time roles, because they made a substantive connection with someone they met through SCORE who found value in their expertise.

Executive coaching is a great business as well but it does require certification to be held in professional regard.  www.coachfederation.org  If you are in the DC area and might want to learn more about coaching, the Capital Coaches Conference is an all day event Thursday, June 7th, 2012 at George Mason University and the speaker lineup is impressive.  Before you make the investment and commitment to becoming a certified coach, a one day conference like this is a great way to get introduced and meet many successful people in the industry. 

Remember, full time employment can come in the form of a couple of part time jobs combined.  If health insurance is a concern, consult your accountant about forming an LLC and an insurance broker can help you navigate what plan you need to accommodate your lifestyle.  A coaching client of mine (who is over 50) recently consulted with Business Benefits Group and uncovered a significant savings setting up a plan for himself rather than opting into his cobra coverage. 

So, while I might need a little more Advil to get past my morning aches and pains than I used to, knowing that I can take charge of my own career and find new opportunities to utilize my years of experience helping those with less gives me some relief.

Additional substantive articles on finding work over 50:

http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/30/over-50-job-seeking-leadership-careers-hiring.html

In case you missed the Mike Wallace segment, here is the link.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7405528n&tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.7

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
1

The Harvest – Taking Stock

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Dec 5, 2011 in Career Path

Bookmark and Share

In the retail jungle, the holiday shopping season is traditionally followed by yearend inventory counts.  On the farm, it happens right after the harvest. As professionals, we should also conduct our own yearend inventory and update our resumes with our most noteworthy accomplishments of the year. 

As illustrated in my book, TEN EASY STEPS TO A PERFECT RESUME, you want to have a good description of your company, role, and primary responsibilities as well as a brief list of your most significant accomplishments. Accomplishments are separate from your job description, what you or anyone else would be doing in your position, and they are what most set you apart from others. Accomplishments are details about what you made, saved, or achieved that are special. Relevantly describe how they, and your role, relate to the overall company structure.  Include projects you designed, led through development, and took to completion.  Describe initiatives you were involved in on a team or awards and recognition you received that show you went above and beyond the call of duty.

When describing your accomplishments it’s important to use numbers, percentages, or other quantitative descriptions to show your contribution to your role and the company as a whole. You may have found budget cuts of 10% that increased company profits by $50,000, or you led a software implementation that created efficiencies in reporting and reduced your monthly close by 2 days.  Whatever your situation, show the metric, or key performance indicator (KPI), that you affected through your outstanding performance.

Some people have a hard time bragging about themselves, so try answering these questions as a start:

    • What change occurred in my company this year and how was I involved in that?
    • How has my department and/or role evolved this year?
    • What were the major projects I worked on and how did they affect the division/ company’s performance?

Your answers should spur your train of thought about what increased or decreased and what your part was in that change.

This process can also help you with your goal setting.  Perhaps, after you see your accomplishments on paper, you’ll realize there is a fundamental intellectual challenge that you are lacking or something you really wish you had been involved in that would have offered you personal and/or professional growth. 

Even if you are content with your current role and/or employer and not considering a job change next year, it’s important to keep your resume up to date.  Companies change over time, people take on more responsibility and taking stock of the harvest at the end of the year will make it much easier to update your resume when you do need it. Remember, your resume should be an accurate reflection of the experience that you intend to carry forward, not everything you have done, so choose your examples wisely.

Related Article: Setting Goals

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 
-

The Path – When there’s no “Path” to your Career Path

Posted by Carolyn Thompson on Nov 22, 2011 in Career Path, Job Search, Thinking Positive

Bookmark and Share

Those of us who reach a certain age with a resume full of professional disconnects are going to be in for a hard sell.  If you’ve cut a path through the jungle over the years, it’s OK if that path has a lot of twists and turns as long as it gets you from A to Z without encountering flooded rivers or giant waterfalls.  But if your path starts under this tree and then stops one hundred yards away, only to continue from a fresh starting point over on the other side of yonder savannah, it’s going to be tough to get a recruiter to talk to you.

There are several posts on this site that talk about assembling relevant experience to address this sort of issue; my suggestion is that you turn your resume into a theme park with clusters of job experience wrapped around a single skill set, such as marketing or advertising or regulatory affairs or whatever fields you’ve delved into more than once.  I’m assuming that you’re a serial career changer like me, with the resume of a dilettante.

To me the resume and cover letter is all about getting in the door.  What I have gotten results with on a couple of occasions is a resume that stakes my profession firmly in the ground where the recruiter is searching, and then leading with all of the experience I had with the various employers I’ve worked for.  I generally flat list prior employment companies and titles, going back as far as I think is necessary to establish my credentials.  Then I’ll list my accomplishments by function: twelve years of marketing experience in this role for Company A, five years as marketing director for Company B, providing marketing analysis for Company C.

The next mini-paragraph might list my accomplishments in advertising: managing the annual media buy for Company A, closing X deals with product distributors for Company B, launching the online sales and marketing effort  for Company C fifteen years ago.  And the following cluster might talk about another skill that I’ve developed as the result of employment requirements: working with governmental agencies on policy and rules as they relate to my employer.

All of that adds up to what I discuss in the cover letter, which is management in multiple environments for various functions involving public and commercial outreach.  Given the hand I’ve dealt myself – working with media companies, for mayors in two major American cities, for a professional baseball team, for a multimedia development startup – that’s the closest I can come to a thematic approach that (hopefully) shows a path through the jungle with one stretch connected to another.  And what I’ve found is that the more programmatic HR professionals will hit the delete button, but the recruiter who is intrigued by such a mix of experience might just give me a call.

This guest post is contributed by Bob Hartzell. Bob has been writing for five years about education and other life essentials on a variety of websites.  He writes about continuing education, career oriented degrees, both the baccalaureate and the graduate degree online, in recognition of the fact that the job market has undergone tremendous changes in the last twenty years.

If you have a great idea for a jungle-themed post, let us know! Guest writers or requests are always welcome!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright © 2024 JobSearchJungle All rights reserved.