9 Tips For Applying To Job Openings When Youre Feeling Desperate

9 Tips For Applying To Job Openings When You're Feeling Desperate 9 Based on the recent experience of someone on the receiving end of a job opening. This is a guest post by Geoffrey Mendelson. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. 1. READ THE AD. Don't just send out a resume because you are desperate. No one will hire you for a job you can't do because you are hungry. Sorry.eval 2. Get the details right. Sending resumes to the wrong person, with the wrong details, or calling someone on the phone if they ask for emails will not get you anywhere.eval In the US, I would get 3-4 messages a week on my business answering machine from people applying to a placement agency, something that I was not. If I did call them back after a while, most people were actually mean to me, acting as if I had stolen their phone call from the people it should have gone to. 3. Make sure you can actually do the job. Sounds obvious but it is not. Just because you think it's a job anyone can do, don't insult the person looking to fill the job with that attitude. For example, not all women are maternal so don't take a daycare job if you are not, and vice-versa with men. 4. Do some research. Check the company website to be certain you can work in that field, in that location and at the times the job is open i.e. the work hours. 5. Make sure you understand what they want. For example if you are a religious Jewish chef, don't apply for a Saturday afternoon dishwashing job at Joe's Pork Palace. 6. Understand the language requirements. A PhD from the US or Russia won't help if the job requires you to speak a language you can't. 7. Don't expect them to be flexible for you. Unless you are the top person in a rare field, no one is going to go out of their way e.g. to rearrange their schedule for you. If a job requires you to work on Friday mornings, don't expect them to give you the day off. Or, in many cases I saw, religious Jews who wanted non-Jews to give them Shabbat off. A now-defunct call center tried that and ended up losing the contracts to the company that got the Friday night and Saturday contract. This also applies to telecommuters. Friday is a work day in the US, and it's Shabbat here in Israel in the evening when it's still morning there. If your employer wants you to be available, it may not work out (to be polite). I had a job here where I was on call on Shabbat. Not for something basic like a computer crash, but a few times an alarm went off and I was called. If you are not going to take the call, don't even apply for the job. 8) Make sure they can read your resume. If your resume comes in some obscure document format from software that no one has, it will be deleted without being opened. Do not rely on format over content. In terms of being legible to begin with, someone I met in the technical writing business used to stick a resume up on the wall and see what it looked like from afar. Everyone else I've known read the content. If it was difficult to read, it wasn't read. 9) Don't expect an answer. If you had so little consideration to apply for a job for which you were not really a viable candidate, don't expect anything in return. If you wasted someone's time, sent your resume for a job you had no business applying for, then don't feel bad if they make you spend an entire day traveling to an interview so that they could show you to their boss as a bad example and then hire their cousin. About the author Geoffrey Mendelson is a frequent contributor to Tachlis, one of the mailing lists mentioned in The Ultimate List of Mailing Lists For Your Israeli Job Search. He can be reached at gsm [at] mendelson [dot] com. Ready to try some job openings? You're guaranteed to find some in my 375+ Twitter Feeds of Job Openings From Around the World. If you liked this article, you'll also find useful my 9 Signs of Job Listings That Will Steal Your Resume.

How to Spot a Good Recruiter from a Bad Recruiter

How to Spot a Good Recruiter from a Bad Recruiter There seems to be  a large, growing  population that views  the profession of third party recruiting  as  a  useless industry. They find recruiters  to be greedy, selfish and caring more about the commission checks they cash than the people they place.  Used car salesmen are starting to get better reputations. As a seasoned recruiter I take offense to this. It pains me to hear people talk so poorly about a profession I  have worked so hard at and take so seriously. At the same time, as a seasoned recruiter, I’ve seen enough to know these people deserve to look down on the recruiting industry.  They  are well within their  rights  to put a recruiter down and diminish the profession.  Unfortunately there are recruiters out there that are proving them right.  If you have a LinkedIn account, a few hundred bucks to get set up on CareerBuilder and a working phone line you can call yourself a recruiter. There is no degree to get into the field. And for most agencies there really aren’t any  specific  qualifications to be hired  either, which means anytime you receive a call from a recruiter you are either about to work with someone who can change your life, or waste 5 minutes of your time. It’s that latter part that causes such ill feelings about the profession. Dealing with someone who doesn’t value your time or more importantly, your career, can cause these negative opinions, and I don’t blame candidates for feeling this way. I want to highlight  5  points to ensure that when you do get that call, you  will know if they are worth working with or not: 1) Do they understand what is important to you? What I am about to say here is no surprise: recruiters are compensated by their clients, and, as such, the loyalty lies where the money  stream flows. The bad recruiter only sees this and their process is pretty simple. They  will get you on the phone, determine if you are a fit and move on. The good recruiter sees the bigger picture. They  will make sure that they are gathering the information that is important to your career, and if it matches the open job, then great, we are one step closer to a placement. If not, that’s  OK  too. Knowing what is important to the candidate will help  the recruiter  determine what future positions make sense to approach you about. Bad recruiters will sacrifice the long term relationship for immediate results. RELATED: Are Recruiters Really Bad People? 2) How much do they know about the job? Give me 10 minutes with  the most entry level  recruiter and I can get them to take a half decent job order from a hiring manager. Believe me,  it’s  not difficult. But what do they really know about the job? Of all things, this is probably the top complaint from candidates. However, candidates  must be realistic. Some information is just hard to get as a recruiter  because a client does not want to give too much to a third party. But a good recruiter will dive deeper they should understand why the position is open, how many people are on the team, how long  their client has been in business and  what personality traits are important to the hiring manager among many other things. If a recruiter is just reading off of a job description and hasn’t done their homework, look out. RELATED: The Principles of Being a Better Recruiter 3) Knowledge of your skill sets: Another popular complaint from candidates is recruiters not understanding their industry. This is an easy thing to be angry about because you take pride in what you do to have some person you never met try and tell you if those skills  that took you years to acquire  match a  few bullet points on a piece of paper  can feel intrusive and offensive. Recruiters aren’t Web Developers, CNC Machinists or Executive Assistants, they are recruiters, and their job isn’t to pretend to be something they aren’t. However, a good recruiter should do some research on what they are hiring for they should be able to talk to you with some level of understanding what it takes to get the job done for the position they call you about and they should be comfortable enough to be honest about not having the same knowledge of your industry as you do. RELATED: What Skills Do Employers Want from Candidates? [INFOGRAPHIC] 4) Follow up skills: A good recruiter should keep you informed throughout the process after all they are the middle man! If you go several days without hearing from  your recruiter, and they will not return your calls, that’s a concern. It’s unfortunate but more times then not a client will go silent on recruiters and there is nothing they can do about it, however that should not mean you shouldn’t hear from the recruiter! The recruiter should be keeping you up to date on whatever it is that’s going on. They haven’t heard back from the client in 3 days? Well you should know that. And realize that the recruiter can only do so much to get an answer from them during those times. RELATED: How to Contact Recruiters on Social Media [Best Ways] 5) Detail oriented: What is the recruiter’s process? Is it a 5 minute call and the next thing you know you are interviewing with a client? Although sometimes that is the case, for the most part your conversation should be pretty  thorough the recruiter should fully  walk you through every part of the job,  prepare you  thoroughly  for  any interview and take the  time to walk you through each step. You aren’t a child and shouldn’t  be treated as such, but this person has  taken a  lot of time understanding  the position they have approached you about, the least they could  do  is share  their experience for your benefit. Conclusions: I understand the decision  to lump recruiters in the same bucket. Even a few poor experiences can ruin your outlook on the entire profession.  However by doing that you are only hurting yourself. Countless times I have called candidates about a position only to be answered with “I don’t deal with recruiters!” What you refuse to “deal” with is my connections and relationships that  I have worked hard for, that  will leverage you to that next position you have been searching for. What I suggest to candidates I work with is find a recruiter who staffs your industry and works with the major employers you want to work with and build a relationship with them.  Ensure they are the type of recruiter that understands your career goals and can align you with the right hiring managers.  They may not have an immediate opening, but chances are they have already established a relationship with the  company that eventually decides to hire you.

How to Manage Career Disappointment

How to Manage Career Disappointment There will always be a point in our career where regardless how hard we try, how much we commit, and how successful we feel, things just do not progress at the pace we desire or in the direction we are hoping.  The hardest part is knowing the difference between this time  being a need for patience, or whether it is the time to look further  at other options in  your career. Professionally, as career coaches we provide many individuals with guidance on this exact situation. And the emotional implications, feelings of dismay and questions around why this is actually happening  are common  even for the most senior and experienced business professional. So how do you manage career disappointment? Put it in to perspective: Understand in detail the reason behind the disappointment. Is it a decision that is going to have an immediate impact on your career? Will it become a long term stale mate?  or is it just a slight career hurdle that requires you to have a small amount of patience? Talk to your managers or colleagues: Holding in frustrations such as this can result in the development of negative emotions towards your management team, colleagues and your organisation. By talking about the situation with those that can be, or are, involved in the situation will allow you to control your emotions and ensure that you do not “build a mountain out of a mole hill”. Remember, it is important to be proactive at all times in your career and to see everything as a learning opportunity. Look at alternatives: We are 100% responsible for our own careers generally (with support from others of course), for this reason it is our own responsibility to be aware of  what may happen. By being aware we have the opportunity of looking at alternatives and assessing proactively how the alternative may support our career. Map out what these alternatives will be, the implications, benefits and challenges and how this may assist you in reaching your career goals. Once you have done this you will be able to look at the timeframe and opportunity these alternatives may present your career. Remove the emotion: As hard as it is, a clear career decision can only be made when the emotion is removed from the situation. Never assume that business decisions are made because of “you” rather understand that business is business, and hopefully the decisions that are being made will result in an even stronger business operation. If you are unable to remove the emotion, work with others to help you understand what the situation looks like when the emotion is removed. Develop your network: Developing your network is key to any career growth opportunity and to all of your success. By developing your network during this time, you can further enhance your knowledge, your career prospects and  understand business operations through the eyes of other professionals that may have ‘been there, done that’. Remember however that in developing your network, you also need to be prepared to nurture it. The reality is, everyone will have a point of disappointment in their career. It is however how it is managed that will result in the disappointment being used to develop as a professional or disengage as an employee. Remember, from all failures comes an opportunity to learn and develop as a professional. Remember, getting support for issues that are impacting you, both in your career is always important. There is always someone to talk to that can provide you assistance during these times and it is important to work with professionals for support and a deeper understanding of managing challenging times. [Featured image: Shutterstock]

Track Your Progress Toward Your Bigger Goals - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Track Your Progress Toward Your Bigger Goals - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Achieving life goals need persistency and being completely focused. A life goal can be finishing up your degree, thesis, getting a professional certification or similar. However, be careful about not mixing up your day-to-day goals with your bigger personal goals. Crossing off items from your daily to-do list is a great motivator and a source of serotonin for your brain. However, you should leave your daily survival mode and take a step back to look at the big picture. You need to think why you are doing these small tasks or where you want to be in the next three years or five years. If you live your life with no direction or plan and only count on small tasks as victories, then, you cannot move your career forward or get lost in the daily chaos. Unfortunately, most of our days are filled with lots of meaningless and busy work such as answering emails or attending unnecessary meetings. If you think how much of your time you spend on something meaningful, you will notice that it is only a small percent of your work day. Therefore, you need to start tracking your progress towards your real goals. The first step of doing this is that you need to divide your bigger goals into more manageable smaller steps and visualize them. You can also divide these steps into smaller tasks to keep track of them easier. Then, take one of your top calendar apps and plan when you will accomplish these tasks. Set out to complete specific tasks each week on top of your daily work. You will see that as you complete these smaller steps, you will get much closer to your bigger goal. If you cannot stay true to your schedule or if you planned it out too ambitiously at the beginning, you can always revise it to make it more manageable. You can share your goals with a friend or coworker, if you are having problem tracking your own progress. Therefore, when they ask you about your current stage, you feel accountable and obligated to complete your tasks according to your proposed timeline. Also, it is important to celebrate your accomplishments when you reach your milestones. You can give yourself a day off, go to a small vacation or buy something you really want. Celebrating your successes is important to keep your motivation up so that you can move on with your work.

Top 6 CV Writing Tips for Your Study Abroad Application CareerMetis.com

Top 6 CV Writing Tips for Your Study Abroad Application â€" CareerMetis.com Applying for a College or University abroad you should be ready to submit a CV or resume, especially in case you claim for a graduate degree program, research position or a scholarship.Here are six tips to create irresistible Curriculum Vitae.1)InformationevalThe length of the CV shouldn’t exceed two pages. These two pages have to be your full academic and, if possible, professional profile, listing your skills, education, and experience.All your educational backgrounds should be included: awards and honors, research and teaching experience, publications, presentations, jobs, affiliations and extracurricular activity, language levels, etc.Here is the checklist of what you may additionally include to your CV:Grants and Fellowships.Summer programs.Special Training.IT Literacy and Software Skills.Relevant Coursework.Laboratory Experience.Fieldwork.Conferences participation.Community Service.Church activities.Leadership Experience.Internship.Previous study abroad or traveling.Work Expe rience.Available References.Certifications/Licensure.Do not include any redundant information, like some irrelevant fifth-grade honors or club you joined for a few weeks. School Courses are not to be included on your resume because they already are on your transcript, as well as the test scores. Study some resume samples for applying abroad to understand the structure of the document.2) Sell yourself!There is too much competition when you decide to Study Abroad â€" unless you are planning to study in a small town in an unpopular department, where they can’t get many students.It is not enough just to be good â€" you have to be the most suitable person, the best one for this particular university or College. To sell yourself it is not enough to know your abilities and skills. You should learn what the Institution you are applying to needs, what will be appreciated. Try and find common ground and choose such points that will draw attention and raise the interest.Emphasize your cross- cultural skills. Mention all possible projects that show that you try to understand the culture of the country you are going to, or at least the world culture in general. Maybe, you took part in some special conference dedicated to the cross-cultural problems or attended the corresponding extracurricular.evalResume format for the abroad application allows you to point your specific knowledge of the languages or multi-ethnic project participation.3) Be honest!Your CV is like paper money that has to be backed by the gold of your skills. Otherwise, you will be bankrupt. The committee usually cross-checks the CV information, and if it is not true, it will do you do good.Meet university ethical standards: be yourself and find a place where you will be considered with the experience and skills you have. Keep the points that you mentioned in your CV reflected in other application documents: the cover letter, personal statement, admission essay, etc.4) Your CV styleevalFirst of all, the lan guage has to be academic. It’s not the right place to stand out by being informal. Carefully check the vocabulary and sentence structure.Find the perfect words to make your CV sound attractive. Select the right action words at the beginning of each statement, and let them not repeat throughout the text.Most of the Institutions accept application documents in English, so you can hire a professional essay writing services to ensure the style will be adequate.5) Be sure to meet all the formal requirementsThis will empower your CV to be properly organized and easy to read. You may use the international format of resume but is better to check the website of the university or the college where you are going to study. They often provide their specific preferences, recommendations or the template.Standard international CV form may help you to arrange the required information but will be not sufficient to fit the local peculiarities of the countries and cultural environments.For example, y ou should provide your photo with your resume to study in Europe and Asia, but not in the UK or the USA.Another example: if you are applying to a college which is known for its football team, and you are a great player, you can emphasize it and get an advantage.Carefully check the recommendations about the design of your documents. Choose a professional-looking font and 10-12 point font. Some Universities or Colleges provide detailed requirements on the font, margins, and document format, be it pdf or doc file.6) Your grammar and punctuation should be perfect!Obviously, the poorly written language can spoil all the efforts. If you are applying to an Institution in a non-English-speaking country, it is a great idea to get your resume translated by the professional translators. Anyway, ask someone to proofread your CV or get the editor’s help.evalThere are thousands of reasons to Study Abroad and don’t let the formal difficulties be an obstacle on your way. Good luck to all the fr eshers!

Why Call Center Experience Is A Resume Asset - CareerAlley

Why Call Center Experience Is A Resume Asset - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Call centers are frequently seen as disposable, entry-level positions. Theyre seen as jobs that people have in college or when theyre first starting out, on par with waiting tables or working as a checkout clerk at a drugstore. Its true that working in call center services isnt exactly something that one hungrily pursues as a final career path. However, a job in a call center can actually be a huge plus on your resume. Here are some reasons why call center experience can be beneficial to you on just about any career path. Photo by Mike Wilson on Unsplash Shows Customer Service Skills The truth is that there are very few careers where customer service skills arent an asset. Just about all jobs involve some interaction with the public or at least with coworkers. Nobody learns how to deal with the public more than call center employees. Not only do call center employees have experience dealing with the public, but they oftentimes have experience dealing with people who are difficult or even downright irate. This sort of customer service experience is invaluable and cannot be taught in a classroom. Customer service skills are those essential capabilities that make you well equipped to handle one-on-one interactions with clients. There are customer service roles in nearly every industry and many different types of customer service skills that you can highlight on your resume. Go into as much detail as possible to demonstrate the depth of your customer service competencies by emphasizing your relevant experience in the following areas. careerbuilder.com Demonstrates An Ability To Problem Solve Many call center employees are in charge of dealing with customers grievances and helping them to figure out a solution for their problems. This helps these employees to develop excellent problem-solving skills. Employers are looking for employees who are able to deal with a crisis and stay calm under pressure. People who have worked in call centers are adept at both of these skills. Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash Suggests That One Can Prioritize Funds When a customer calls a call center, they are often seeking some sort of refund or discount. A call center employees job is to decide when compensation is deserved and when it can be avoided with a different solution. The more a call center employee can steer a customer towards a solution that doesnt involve a refund or coupon, the more money the company saves. This is actually a phenomenal way for people to learn about prioritizing funds and saving money wherever possible. All employers are looking for employees that will help them to earn more money, not waste it or spend it frivolously. This fantastic skill is easily developed while working in call centers and will make you very attractive to future employers. Demonstrates Dedication and Responsibility Working in a call center can be incredibly stressful. This is why having it on your resume suggests that youre dedicated, responsible and will remain a loyal employee even when job conditions arent exactly easy. Ultimately, any job where you show up regularly and work hard will be an asset on your resume and a call center is no different. If you can say that you showed up dutifully and worked hard, your call center experience will be a major asset on your resume.

Resume Free Templates

Resume Free TemplatesThere are many companies that offer resume free templates as well as some professional resume writing services. There are many places where you can find this type of templates.The best place to look for a free template is the internet. Here you will find so many of them. Some may be free and some may be paid, but whatever you choose is better than nothing.One of the best things about this is you can make a resume on your own. Or you can have someone else do it for you. Either way you will have a resume that you can submit to a company.As you are making your resume you might get interested in these free templates. You will want to find out how to change things in the resume. You do not want to keep changing your resume every few months and it will not be impressive. Make sure that when you get to the end you know exactly what the problem is and what you are going to do to fix it.Once you have finished making your resume that you go to the site with the resume. The n you can go ahead and copy all of the information in the template.At this point you can start listing your different areas that you can highlight on your resume. Do you have experience with customer service?This is a very important question to make sure you make a list of questions to answer. Many times this is what is called a cover letter. After you have listed your answers to the questions above you will be ready to go to the company to get a job.There are some people who have more experience and better resumes than others. So, if you are very good at one thing you will want to use that area on your resume and highlight it. For example, if you are very good at writing you might choose to highlight that and use it to your advantage.