How to ace an interview: 5 tips from a Harvard career advisor
How to Ace an Interview: 5 Tips from a Harvard Career Advisor
Archive for month: January, 2016
Evaluate the Job Market
Evaluate the Job Market
Evaluate the job market. This will allow you to determine which areas of the market you want to target for a successful job search.
Read about the job market
- Jobs in 2020: The Industries and Occupations to Watch
- 7 Careers for the future
- The top jobs in 10 years might not be what you expect
- 10 careers you can still have 20 years from now
- 10 new jobs people will have by the year 2030
- 2015’s top 10 best jobs for the future in health care
- 10 great career fields for the future
- 6 high paying jobs of the future
Prepare for the job market
Consider ways you can be prepared to be part of the future job trend. Prepare for a great job in the future. Take the time to evaluate the job market in order to reap big financial dividends. This means you need to do some research to know what jobs are out there. Look in your local community to see who is hiring. Evaluate the national marketplace and job trends. Find out what industries are “hot”. Consider where the good jobs will be in ten years.
Once you know what is going on, evaluate what you can do to keep your skills strong in the marketplace. Can you take a class? Learn a new skill? Move to a different location? Network? Share your with knowledge someone else? Do what it takes to evaluate and prepare for the job market and you will always have a good job.
Improve your people skills
Improve your People Skills
Look for ways to improve your people skills. Strong “soft skills” can add to your capabilities on the job and increase your career opportunities. Here are a few skills that can be strengthened.
Take a Class to Improve your people skills
* Interpersonal Communication * Leadership *
* Easy English 1 * Beginning Conversational French * Speed Spanish * Instant Italian *
*Discover Sign Language * Get Assertive! * Individual Excellence*
* Mastering Public Speaking * Skills for Making Great Decisions * Building Teams that Work *
*Managing Customer Service * Achieving Success with Difficult People * Business and Marketing Writing *
* Write Effective Web Content * Blogging and Podcasting for Beginners *
*Jump start your career with LinkedIn * Effective Business Writing * Writing Essentials *
Practice Communication Skills
Make it a point to regularly improve your people skills. Practice listening. Ask questions. Show interest in what others are doing. Learn new things. Try to understand what others are saying. Practice your ability to speak clearly in order to explain what you mean. Learn to speak in public. Share your knowledge and learn from others. Take the time to evaluate and solve problems. Learn to communicate to get to the root of a problem and solve it permanently.
As you practice these skills, you make yourself more valuable in the workplace. People will come to you when they need help with a problem.
Create a Personal Brand
Create a Personal Brand
Create a personal brand through a few simple strategies. Your personal brand allows you to be recognized and seen for who you are and what you do. This starts by thinking of yourself as a brand.
Evaluate your personal brand
Consider how you add values to others and what you have to share. Consider what is uniquely valuable about yourself. What is the product or talent that you have to share? Create your brand around your abilities.
Take the time to evaluate how others see you. How can you be more clear in telling others who you are? Be clear in what you can do? How can you add value? Pay attention to what you share about yourself. How can you create a strong online presence that reflects who you are? What are your priorities and who is your target audience? What details will impact the image you share with others?
Make a few changes to secure your brand
Once you have evaluated your personal brand, you can consider what changes to make to secure your brand. Your brand reflects your image. This is included in how you dress. Consider how you carry yourself. Update your social network profiles to reflect your brand. Create a new web site that reflects your brand. Start a blog that supports your brand. As you align all that you do with your new personal brand, you will find that your brand caries though in all that you do.
Start the New Year with a Career Plan
Start the New Year with a Career Plan
Start the new year with a career plan.
This starts by evaluating your values, skills, and interests. Ask yourself a few questions to determine what you really want to be doing.
Values
- What do I care about?
- What do I want to give back to the community?
- How can I help others?
- What kind of work is meaningful to me?
- What are my ethical standards?
Skills
- What am I good at?
- Which capabilities do I already have?
- What job skills do I have that would transfer to a different setting?
- Which job skills would I like to develop in the coming year?
- What do I need to do to develop those skills?
Interests
- What do I like to do?
- How do is use my free time?
- Which activities keep my attention?
- What could I do all day and not even feel like I was working?
- Which hobbies do I have that may relate to a job?
Once you have evaluated your values, skills, and interest you will know what you want to do, like to do, and are good at. This can lead you to the next step to evaluate your goals, education and vision. Here are a few questions to help you evaluate this.
Goals
- What is my career goal?
- How can I take steps to achieve my career goal?
- Which skills or capabilities could I develop that would improve my career options?
- What do I need to do to take the next step towards my career goal?
- Will my career goal make me happy?
Education
- What education and training do I need to improve my skills?
- How could education help me reach my career goals?
- What education would be useful to expand my career options?
- Are there formal or informal trainings available to meet my needs?
- How could I get career training while I am still at my current job?
Vision
- How can I keep my goals and career plan in mind?
- What can I do each day to remind myself of my goals?
- Will my goals and career plan bring me a good work/life balance and happiness?
- Who can I share my vision with to help me reach my goals?
- What can I do today to reach my vision?
As you put your goals, education, and vision in place you can move forward to achieve the career goal of your dreams.
7 Tips for a Successful Job Search
7 Tips for a Successful Job Search
Here are 7 tips for a successful job search.
- First, focus on your resume. Keep it short. Use key words that relate to the job. Your resume should be up to date.
- Second, create a portfolio of job documents. Get organized! Use your computer, notebook, tablet, IPAD, or phone. Create a folder with all job related documents and information so that you can quickly apply for a job. Keep your files up to date.
- Next, create a professional network. Get acquainted with those in your industry. Go to professional lunches. Attend training functions in order to learn new information. Be at workplace gatherings so you can get acquainted. Let people know you are looking for work.
- Fourth, network online. Use LinkedIn. Be on other social media like facebook and twitter. Share information about yourself. Gather information about companies, job needs, and to let people know you are interested in a job.
- Fifth, create a personal brand. Decide what your brand will be, be able to summarize what you do in a short speech, and share your brand with others as a way to communicate what you can do.
- Sixth, create an elevator speech. This is a short one minute talk about what you can do and why someone should hire you. You may only have a minute to sell yourself.
- Finally, stay positive. Do a little each day until you find that job that is a good match for your skills and capabilities.
As you use these 7 tips for a successful job search you will find that you are able to quickly land that dream job you desire.