Recent Posts
Mentorship January 24, 2018
Job hunting doesn't have to be that scary.
So, you’ve finally decided that you’re ready to move on from your current job to a new one. Maybe you’re not loving the work you do or you know you need to change jobs to meet your salary goals – no matter the reason, you’re ready to start your job hunting journey.
Job hunting can be very stressful. Before you begin pouring through listings on Indeed and Monster, take these four steps to get your resume, portfolio and mindset prepping for the hectic world of job hunting.
This is a step that professionals should take more often, whether they want to leave a job or not, but rarely do. The first question people usually ask is how long should my resume be? The general rules are that entry-level employees should keep their experience limited to one page. And those with 5-10 years of experience in their industry can get away with two pages to account for their experience and accomplishments.
While this isn’t a formal document to send along with your resume and letter of interest, this document will help prep you for interviews when you have to answer questions about fulfilling projects you led and completed or challenging situations you had to overcome. Take some time and comb through your emails, documents and task lists and create a list of some recent projects you worked on and notes about the challenges and outcomes. You don’t need to print out your reports or write essays about what you did, this is more of a SparkNotes list for your benefit.
Not sure if you have anything worth putting on your list? One strategy I used when I was getting ready to switch careers was to sit down with a trusted co-worker that I work with frequently. I shared that I was updating my portfolio of recent projects and was looking for help remembering some of the finer details of a few of them. We met over coffee and it turned into a fun reflection and learning session, too!
When you’re applying for new jobs, you’re essentially pitching yourself in a compelling way to a new company to show them they can’t live without you. Since job listing forms and email is usually the first impression people have of you (including your resume), don’t miss out on a cool new opportunity because of unclear messages and typos. But, like many other things, there’s an app for that. Two of my favorites are Grammarly, an AI-powered writing tool that automatically highlights grammar issues and misspellings, and the Just Not Sorry Chrome plugin, which highlights apologetic language that could undermine your pitch.
For most people, your nerves are bound to crop up when you’re heading into an interview. Heck, I start sweating just thinking about interviews. For most, nerves appear outwardly as shaky hands, stumbling words and sweat.
While you can’t outsmart science and stop these physical reactions completely, you can start to prepare your mind before the interviews and develop new, healthy habits for coping with the stress you’ll be under.
The classic advice is to prepare with a friend or family member by practicing your response to common questions. New-age advice is to try new things like deep-breathing techniques and mindful meditation, both have been proven by research to help your stress management responses.
Finding a job is terrifying, but with the right techniques and skills, you can ace any interview you walk into.
