Tips on how to Sell Yourself and Advance Your Career

Tips on how to Sell Yourself and Advance Your Career 

 Often when it comes to our career we are some of the worst salesmen in our abilities and skills.  We sell ourselves short in our abilities during the review time or accept less than we are worth out of fear that they will find someone else.  

Instead of building ourselves up and selling ourselves for maximum value we accept what is given to us and end up doing twice the work for half the pay. Then, how do you leverage this to bring out the utmost satisfaction you sought in your chosen career.

One of the most important places you can ever sell yourself is during the interview process for a new job.  It is during this process that you should make an effort to build up yourself and sell your skills to potential employers by making them feel that if they hire anyone else but you they are going to be losing out on a fantastic talent.  Here are a few tips you can use during your next interview to make the interviewer think WOW!

Dress for success: Clothes make the man (or woman) and you should dress as if you were interviewing for the CEO position. Research the company and know its background of it.  During the interview show that you have done your homework by asking questions or commenting on a recent press release or company announcement.

Ask questions: Most interviewees just answer the questions they are presented with and never speak up.  Show the interviewer you are truly interested in the company and the job by asking questions relating to the company, your potential job, and company culture.

Bring samples of your work: Whether you are an artist or a computer programmer bring a sample portfolio of your past work and share it with the interviewer.  Remember, a picture (or document) can speak a million words.

Be ahead of schedule: Remember the golden rule; it is better to be 3 hours early than 3 minutes late.  No one is going to hire someone who can't make it to the interview on time.

Follow-up: Don't sit around waiting for a letter or a call.  Send a follow-up letter immediately expressing your interest in the job and if you have yet to hear back within a week pick up the phone and call.  What do you have to lose?

Tips on How to Search for Job Online

Tips on How to Search for Job Online

Are you looking for a job?  If you are and if you are like many other job seekers, there is a good chance that you will turn to the internet to help you find job openings to know more how bright your chances are in getting yourself a job. If this is the first time that you are looking to use the internet to help you find a job, then read on.

When it comes to using the internet, to help you find a job, you will find that you have a number of different options now that internet is now making it very easy to access job portals across the globe. 

These options include websites that are commonly referred to as job posting or career search websites, the online websites of local companies, as well as the online editions of your local newspapers.  To make the most out of finding a job online, as well as to have the most opportunities, you will want to try to take each of the above mentioned approaches.

As important as it is to know where to look for job listings online, it is also important that you know the ins and outs of doing so. However, if you are looking for a job online, you need to be very careful of scammers, because we have them in large quantity on the net. 

They will be telling you all what they can do to make things easy for you whereas they only have interest on how to take advantage of your innocence online. In recent years, the popularity of online scams have increased in popularity.  While many employment scams are associated with work-at-home opportunities, not all are.  Before submitting your resume or a job application, you will want to do a quick research of the company requesting your information.  

Never provide your social security number to a company that you have never heard of before or one in which you cannot research.

As previously stated, you can use online job posting websites or online career search websites to your advantage.  When using these types of websites, you will want to take the time to customize your searches.  Should you not do so, you can spend weeks shifting through all of the job openings, some of which may be located across the country from you.  Many career search websites and job posting websites will allow you to enter in your zip code to give you local job listings.  You may also want to customize your search to include a specific industry or a specific job.

When searching for jobs online, you may find yourself presented with the opportunity of submitting your resume or a job application online.  This is more than possible to do, but you need to proceed with caution.  As soon as you hit the “send,” button, you are often unable to edit your job application or resume. For that reason, you will want to make sure that all of your information is accurate before you submit your resume or application.  

If you are emailing your resume, you may want to examine each company’s policy first. Some request that you do not submit your resume as an attachment, in fear of viruses. This may require you to copy and paste your resume into the body of an email.  If you must do so, review your resume to ensure the original format stayed intact.

It was also mentioned above how you can use company websites to examine open jobs.  You can usually do this by finding the online websites of your local businesses by performing a standard internet search.  Many companies have the jobs in which they are hiring for, as well as information on those jobs, listed on their online websites.  Even if you are unable to find any local companies that are hiring this way, you may still be able to sign up for free job alert emails. These emails will notify you when a new position opens up. While this may not happen for a few weeks, months, or years, you have nothing to lose by doing so.

The above mentioned points are just a few of the points that you will want to work with when using the internet to help you find a job.  In most cases, you are advised to use your best judgment.  If a career opportunity that you find online looks too good to be true, it just may be. Use your discretion not to fall prey to job online agency scam. Happy reading!

Self-Assessment Tips For Choosing Appropriate Career Path

Self-Assessment Tips For Choosing Appropriate Career Path

If you are unsure of what kind of job you want or are interested in making a career change but don’t know exactly what career is right for you, you may want to consider taking an assessment test to get some answers.  

Assessment tests are good for career planning as they will give an insight about yourself. It can also be used to identify some of your values, personality, abilities, strengths and interests and then suggest a career path that would suit you and allow you to succeed.

There are all types of assessment tests including the ACT and the SAT which colleges use as a way of judging admittance into college.  But when you are making a career change or just want a new career, the assessment test we talk about is a little different.  These types of assessment tests will ask you questions about certain job situations and you pick the one you are most interested in and the one you are least interested in.

After you have answered all of the questions as applicable to you– usually between 50 and 100 questions; your answers will be analyzed.  That analysis will include a list of the jobs that most accurately match your personality and abilities.  For example, you can take the test to check whether one of what you like doing best is the right choice for you to be taken as your career path. This is because you may not have enough expertise in what you like doing best at times and it may require that you have to develop yourself the more before you can venture into this as a career. The test can as well shed more light about some other areas that you are good at while you are not even aware of them.

Assessment tests can tell you a lot about yourself.  Often, you might find out that a career will show up on your list that you had never even considered.  It could spark a long-buried or abandoned interest you might have had a long time ago.  Once you start to realize that you have so many choices in careers, you may find yourself excited about the true possibilities that exist.

Go online and do a Google search for “assessment test”.  You will find many websites that will offer these tests for free.  For a small fee, they often will also give some career planning advice and more in-depth information on how to achieve your career goals.

Assessment tests are great tools in the career planning process and should be used especially if you are confused as to which career path you should take.  Use them to formulate some goals and then make a plan toward achieving those goals.  There’s no reason why you have to stay in a career you’re not satisfied with.  Take an assessment test and start your new career.
Happy reading.

Introduction to Career Planning: Making the Most Out of Your Career Plan

Introduction to Career Planning: Making the Most Out of Your Career Plan 

Are you a high school or college student who just isn’t sure what you want to do with you career path?  

Don’t be afraid because career planning can be one of the most overwhelming situations in your life in as much as it has to do with your work life and everything about your world of work.  It’s never too early to begin career planning, but it can also be disturbing if you don’t have a specific job in mind that you’ll want to do and where you want your life to finally end up.  

But don’t worry; there are resources and help that are at your disposal which you absolutely should take advantage of when it comes to planning your career.

The first place you need to look at is inside yourself and this is called self-assessment. Self-assessment is a diverse issues that we have to treat separately. I will discuss about this in the next edition of this write. It is however noted that when we’re young, we all have dreams about what we want to be when we grow up.  While some of us never really want to grow up, the reality is that we will eventually have to earn a paycheck.  Unless you’re Donald Trump’s child, you won’t be able to survive in the world without a job.  So why should you spend so much time working at a job you’re not happy with?  That’s why career planning is so very important even in high school and you have no other choice to utilize all the resources available at your disposal to make sure that your career planning strive come to fruition.

After you’ve identified a career path you think you might want to pursue, it might be a good idea to find out if you’re on the right track by taking a career interest test.  These tests are available in many places online and it will take about twenty minutes for you to complete.  Based on the answers you gave, you will be given a list of possible careers that will fit you, taking into considerations yourvalues, personality, abilities and talents.  You should then take a good look at this list and find a career path that appeals to you.  That’s when you can begin your career planning in earnest.

When beginning career planning, you need to set short-term as well as long-term goals, that you intend to achieve.  A short-term goal in career planning might be to get a job in the music industry.  A long-term goals would be to own your own recording studio.  Goal setting – just like with many different things in life – can help keep you focused and realize what you need to accomplish in order to achieve your goals.  Without goals, you are just wandering aimlessly, and that won’t get you anywhere in life except down the wrong road.Very bad if care is not taken!!!

After you have set your goals, the next step in career planning is to think about appropriate training you need that will take you into the career you have chosen.  That usually means education and/or training.  For most jobs, you will need to have some types of education and/or training.  You should immediately figure out whether or not you need to have a degree to work in the career field you have chosen or whether an internship will give you the experience you need.  Then you need to register for the classes and get top grades which can make the ultimate difference in your first job.

Of course, career planning has many more steps, but notwithstanding working towards the advice given above should get you well on your way to your career path!

Look out for my next write up where career assessment/self-assessment will be discussed, keep on enjoying the way. Cheers
For more information about career and other self-development tips send in your comments or feedback. And, we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

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How to Develop Job Skills for Effective Job Performance

How to Develop Job Skills for Effective Job Performance

In today’s competitive life, employers are more inclined to find people who can contribute to the growth of the company and not just boost its productivity in general.

Hence, most employers tend to look for people who are endowed with the most desirable job skills in order to match the expectations and necessities of the company.

Therefore, for people who wish to make it to the jobs that they have long been dreaming of, it is highly important for them to know the most sought-after job skills for utmost job performance.

Therefore, if you want to develop your career as well as your job, here’s a list of the important job skills you must have in order to land a good job and keep it.

1. You must develop in yourself the ability to research: Job seekers should possess the ability to analyze not because they want to land a job in a research company but in order to do simple searches on the data needed by a particular activity.

2. Ability to Engage in Creative and Logical thinking: Most employers need people who are able to produce effective solutions and to make sensible solutions regarding a proposal or a probable activity.

3. You Must be Technologically literate: With the advent of Information and  Communication Technology, most job openings require people who are computer literate or know how to operate different machines and office equipment.

Most employers do not necessarily need people who are technological graduates. The simple fact that job seekers know the basic principles of technology is already enough.

4. You Must also be Proficient in Good Communication skills: People who are able to land a good job are mostly those who are adept in speaking and writing. Employers hire people who are able to express their thoughts efficiently through verbal and written communication.

5. You Must also have an in-depth understanding of Organizational skills: No employer would like to hire somebody who is disorganized. The organization is extremely important to maintain a harmonious working relationship among the staff in the company. Hence, most employers find people who know how to arrange schemes and methods that would maintain orderliness in the area.

6. Ability to exhibit Efficient Interpersonal skills: Because the working environment consists of various kinds of personalities, it is necessary, therefore, to acquire the skill to communicate with different people from all walks of life.

7. Interest in Professional Growth: Employers hire people who are able to create a plan that will generate personal career growth. This means that the person is willing to improve professionally by learning new things he or she still does not know.

These are just some of the most wanted job skills by most employers. Therefore, it is important for job seekers to take note of these assets in order to be successful in every endeavour of their life for the effective discharge of their duties as expected of them.

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SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR CAREER MANAGEMENT

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR CAREER MANAGEMENT

 Welcome back for another interesting edition of career development. Our last discussion focused on asking yourself some questions on how to develop yourself. The important aspect of this exercise is that it will undoubtedly lead to skills development if you can do this as always as possible, as well as answer the questions asked as appropriately as possible.

 The skills to be developed are Academic skills, Thinking skills, Interpersonal skills, Teamwork skills, Technical skills, Communication skills, Proper workplace behavior skills,  effective performance and productivity disposition, good work ethics, and obedience to rules and regulations, among others. All these will guide you to your goals and objectives set to achieve in life.

• Ø  Academic skills will prompt you to work hard by facing your study as expected  of you (in as much as you have goals you are targeting in life)
• Ø  Thinking skills will propel you to think critically and positively before you embark on any job or disposition. By doing this you will be able to weigh the pros and cons of your action before doing anything at all
• Ø  Interpersonal skills will make you relate with people with regard and respect for their personalities. This on the other hand will open a new vista for you because people will love you for whatever you are doing and will be ready to assist you when you need help. Empathy and positive regard is a virtue that everybody supposed to cultivate toward their fellow human being.
• Ø  Teamwork skills involve thinking about any joint decision that has to do with group work. Don’t isolate yourself from others, believe that “there is no I in group work”. Everybody has their own relevance in group work and you must understand this fact. This will assist you in developing good communication skills.
• Ø  Communication skills involve the ability to communicate effectively to bring about positive results. Good communication skills can go a long way in getting a message across to your fellow human being without any problem.
• Ø  Proper workplace behavior is another opportunity you can derive while developing yourself to meet up with the challenges of a purposive lifestyle when you ask yourself a probing that can prompt you to go the extra mile to be an achiever.   
• Ø  Having developed all these virtues will make you understand and exhibit good work ethics. Good work ethics involve working towards setting and achieving corporate goals. Understand and stick to assignments until the results are achieved. You will also imbibe the habit of loyalty to your organization. 
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•  Ask yourself this question, provide an answer to the question, and look out for people of high integrity and fashion your life alongside the way they fashion theirs in a way that is profitable to them. Look out for how to improve yourself on daily basis. Do your best and pray for God’s guidance.

Build your tomorrow, Build your life, and Build your Future; because there is no destination called a FUTURE! It starts NOW!!!

On a final note, take enough rest and be cheerful.  

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Introduction To Career: Who Am I?

Introduction To Career: Who Am I?

Career issues are vital to every individual, in as much as it has to do with how you live your life. However, as important this issues are, yet one has to have a first-hand information about their interests, abilities, passions, and values one cherish in order to take all the necessary steps one can venture into for an enduring and successful life.

If this laudable efforts are to be achieved, you have live your life by asking yourself this question as often as possible.

Having a greater knowledge of what one’s capability is, is one of the prerequisites of eventful living. The act of asking insightful questions like this will undoubtedly open a wide vista for you  to plan for whatever  you are aspiring to achieve in life. If you are able to ask yourself this question as often as possible, this will give you the opportunity of knowing “who you were, who you are and what you stand to become in future”. Asking this question is a clear indication that you are a dreamer, who knows what stands your way of becoming someone great in life.

Who am I? is a question that gives you purpose of life, direction, vision and goals to what is achievable for every trying soul. As an individual you should cultivate the habit of asking yourself this leading question to serve as guide in your life engagement. Asking this question alone is not going to give you the required information needed to succeed in life but by providing answers to the question asked.

Provision of right answers without begging the question will go a long way in giving you insight of what the future holds for you. Begging the question involves not giving direct answer to the question or procrastinating away your time without any definite direction. DON’T DO IT!!!

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