How to discover a new career?

Career Personality Test from My Career Quizzes! Fun Quizzes | MySpace Quizzes

Keeping with the spirit of career changes, I thought I’d share with you a few career testing sites I came across.  On My Career Quizzes, you can learn about your career profile, test if you are ready to leave your current job and a host of other career related quizzes to help you discover your best career options.

To test out the site, I tested my career profile and discovered that I am “The Crisis Manager”.  According to the site, The Crisis Manager, “likes creative freedom and is action-minded.”  While it does give me more details and describes me quite well, it neglected to find any careers that actually support the crisis manger.  If you are just interested in classifying your work personality, this is a good start.  But if you are an avid job searcher and really looking to change careers, then this site is not the one for you.

If you are willing to put in the twenty-minutes it takes to discover your best career intentions, visit Free Career Test which will take you through 100 questions, but then give you a definitive answer as to the kind of careers that best suit you according to your interests.  The results of your test is a 16 page analysis, detailing your best working conditions, your top five career interests and your lowest five.  Shockingly, I ranked highest in clerical work.  While it’s true, I do derive pleasure from performing administrative tasks, I cannot tolerate the ho-drum of routine work and staying within the same environment for long periods of time.

Therefore, I could never work within the traditional clerical environment, even though the test says it would be a perfect fit.  If you find your results are similar to mine, you can also take their job satisfaction test and discover which traits you like the most about your current job and which traits you’d need for optimal job satisfaction.  Utilizing both tests, you’ll have a great start on knowing exactly how to map out your career goals.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4u.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

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Executive Job Searching through the Internet

My last few posts have been all about utilizing networking and researching industries to help cultivate job opportunities. Does this mean that you do not post on the major job boards? Of course not!

While most of your time should be spent networking and following up on your contacts, you should still spend about 20% of your time looking on industry websites to help you find a job. Industry websites are different from major sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com because industry websites have positions and information only relevant to your field. Many companies are more likely to post on industry websites because they have the feel that people who come to these websites are more knowledgeable and serious about their job search.

If you are a c-level employee (CFO, CEO, SVP, etc) five sites of interests are-

• 6 Figure Jobs provides relevant career information and job postings for positions of $100K or more.

• Korn/Ferry International is a recruitment firm that matches executive candidates with their clients’ job openings.

• ExecuNet.com advertises job posting for positions of $150 K or more. They also support communication between executives so they can connect with each other and share business ideas.

• MBA-Exchange.com is a website dedicated to connecting top-level candidates with executive recruiters both nationally and internationally.

• Netshare is a subscription based service that posts openings for positions of six-fugure salaries.

Use these websites to help you locate job openings relevant to your position and expertise. Be sure to follow up just like you would with any other job inquiry. Most importantly, make sure your resume is professional and highlights your unique skills and accomplishments in the best way possible.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4U.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

Visit me on LinkedIN

(866) 620-2741

I need a job – Help!

There has been a national cry of doom from national retailers going bankrupt to the media spotlighting the 8.1% unemployment rate.  The words echoed across our nation?  I need a job!

How ironic is it that the people who most often say they need a job are the very people who have jobs?  Most of my clients are people who are already employed, but are looking for something different.  It is odd to me to notice this phenomena.  While the media proclaims thousands upon thousands of people are being laid-off every day, these are not the people proactively hunting for jobs.  Why?

I wonder if after being laid- off, many people feel it is time to relax and breathe.  Or maybe the shock of losing a job they’ve had for 5, 10, 15 plus years has made people bitter and timid of stepping back into the world of job searching.  Or worse yet, people have forgotten how to conduct job searches and have become complacent once they’ve realized the world of the typical chronological resume being sent to an employment agency and garnering a permanent position within two weeks has all but disappeared. So what can you do?

For starters -

• Don’t blame yourself! It is not your fault that you were laid-off.  The economy is bad and employers are conducting cuts across the board to save themselves money.  So unless you were painting your nails or taking two coffee breaks each hour, you are not the problem!

• Conduct a skills analysis. Take a look at your skills and traits and conduct an inventory.  What new skills have you learned as a result of your most recent position?  What were your accomplishments?  Would another company be happy to have an employee as skilled and trained as you? Are any of your skills or traits transferrable to another occupation or field?  Write down your thoughts.  Find the two or three most prominent successful traits you have and use those as your selling points.  These are your unique value propositions (UVP’s).  You will be using them to help you network and to update or write your resume.

• Begin networking immediately! Let people know you are in the market for a job and if they know of anyone interested to please contact you or give you the information of the person to contact.  Many people have successfully used social networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook to find their jobs.  But you still need to conduct some face to face networking, such as using your local Chamber of Commerce or using a rotary group such as Kiwanis.  Just be sure to keep going back to these groups, so that people get used to seeing your face and begin to establish relationships with you.

• Update your resume. Dust it off.  Read it.  Make sure that the skills you have are pertinent the job(s) for which you applying. If you are applying for different positons, then you should have a separate resume catering to each position.  Employers are turned off by reading resumes that are “One size fits all” and fail to explain how an employee can help establish their specific company’s goals and needs.

• Follow up! If you have sent out your resume and after two weeks have failed to get a response, you should call the company and ask about the status of your resume.  Practice this call with a friend first.  Be sure to explain that you are very interested in working for this company and then explain two or three traits that make you perfect for this job.  Ask if they have begun interviewing yet and if you are a viable candidate.  Yes, some employers will be turned off, but many are impressed by the initiative shown by persistant (not pesky) candidates.

• Remember your manners! If you have had an interview or received a referral from someone in your network, then be sure to send a personalized thank you note.  These notes show the employer or contact that you respect their time and appreciate their consideration of you and your skills.  It also keeps you on their mind.  Employers interview dozens of candidates and you want to be the candidate that stands out.  A thank-you letter helps you do just that.  In the case of contacts, by sending a thank you note and keeping them updated on your job search, they will know you appreciate their efforts and will continue sending you more referrals.  So 24 hours after receiving your interview, send a type-written note thanking the employer and/or contact for their efforts and consideration.  Be sure to remind them of two or three positive traits you possess as an employee.

• Be flexible! If the larger companies in your field are not hiring, then don’t be afraid of trying out start ups or smaller businesses.  If you have over ten years experience, you might even look into starting your own entrepreneurial ventures to offset any monetary losses from your current unemployment status.  The key here is to think growth.  You might be able to garner more experience working at a smaller firm with the potential of growing, then you will at a larger company, where you are focused only on your own occupational tasks.

• Stay positive! Finding a job is hard work.  When you are “unemployed”, you are still working.  Your occupation is finding a new job.  If you feel yourself getting depressed over lack of response to your resume or failure to ace your interview, take a break.  Spend some time with friends.  Maybe have them conduct mock interviews with you to help you find areas of weakness.  Contact a career coach who can help you through the process of finding a job.  But don’t let negative responses change your perspective.  You will find a job – you just have to be willing to stay committed to your job search. Many senior level executives don’t find a new satisfactory position until 6 months after they begin.  Just imagine what would have happened if they gave up after only a few weeks of searching.

Finding a job is hard work, but is a lot easier if you stay focused and persistent.  Don’t accept the first job offer you receive just because there is a doomsday cry of a latent economy and you are afraid of being unemployed.  Yes, jobs are being lost, but there are also a lot of jobs out there as well.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4U.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

Visit me on LinkedIN

(866) 620-2741

Company Information Websites

On Sunday, I promised to post websites that will be beneficial for job seekers to look up companies of interest.  Here are my top five.

Job Hunter’s Bible - is a must-see website that provides a comprehensive list of websites all employees should use to aid in their job search.  This site indexes websites according to different aspects of job searching, but the job hunting section is the best.  In this section, you will learn even more about company researching.

Industry Research Desk – is dedicated to helping people conduct company, industry, and market research of most corporate organizations.  They provide an 18 point checklist to take you step by step through conducting the research of a company, gives you company webistes, and much more.

Researching Companies Online – provides an on-line tutorial of finding out company information.  On this website, you are given highlights and reviews of different aspects of company research and ways to dig deeper than just utilizing the company’s website.

www.corporateinformation.com – is primarily for investors. However, job seekers can use the information on this website to determine a company’s stability and decide if this is a company they are willing to take a risk in during these times of economic uncertainty.

www.dogpile.com – is a search engine that takes information from google, yahoo, msn.com, and ask.com giving a more complete list of results.  This is the starting place for almost all company researches.

As always, good luck with your job search.  Be sure to visit Stepping Up to a Better Career next Sunday to learn other job searching tips that can help you take your career to the next level.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4U.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

Visit me on LinkedIN

(866) 620-2741

Company Information

I know I haven’t posted in a while and I apologize to those of you who regularly visit Stepping Up to a Better Career.

However, during this time, I have been undergoing a lot of research and spending a lot of time networking with people in the resume writing and career search industry.  I’ve learned a lot about useful websites to help you undergo your career search.

One of my most recent discoveries is just how powerful the Internet can be to your job search.  Yes, I’ve posted previously about the benefits of using CraigsList and LinkedIn to help increase your visibility, but the Internet can be used for a lot more than posting your resume and making prior connections.

In fact, one of the best uses of the Internet is to research companies of interest.  Now some of you may be wondering why you should research a company?  There are three reasons.

Reason #1 – If you are called in for an interview, you can have an arsenal of information about the company and can use this knowledge to make connections about how your work history complements the company’s needs.  This will impress an employer and give you that extra benefit of standing out which is always important when going through any part of the job search process.

Reason # 2 – If you are looking for a career in a field you are already intimately involved in, you already know a lot of big name companies.  Now is your chance to research these companies and learn areas of strength and areas of need.  You can also research whether or not the company is searching for candidates in your position of interest.

Reason # 3 – If you are a career changer and are unsure of how to progress throughout a new field or career, you can use the internet to do a lot of your legwork.  You can find out company and/or industry statistics and find contact information to conduct informational interviews with people within the industry.

So how do you get started?  Just to get your feet wet, google a company you already know – such as Pepsi, Levis, or your current place of employment.  See  what’s out there.  Other than the company’s website, what other information is presented?  Are there websites dedicated to giving commentary on the company you selected?  Are there places where your company is advertising for positions of interest?  With this little test, you can tell that finding information is easy.

Now finding accurate information is a different thing.  Visit Stepping Up to a Better Career on Wednesday and I will be providing you with websites dedicated to helping employees – just like you – Step Up to a Better Career.

As always, good luck with your job search.

Sincerely,

Ayesha Long

www.AyeshaWrites4U.com

Step Up to a Better Career with Professional Resume Services

Visit me on LinkedIN

(866) 620-2741