Submitted by elias rodriguez on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 10:12pm.
The best jobseekers all have a unique skill in common. Not only do they usually get the jobs they are qualified for, but they also have a knack for getting the jobs for which they are not qualified. As a result, they have very interesting work lives, because they are not tied down to an industry or position where they are not consistently learning new things.
Getting hired even when you are not qualified for the job is especially helpful in a tough job market. In such a market, what you’re qualified for may not be available (or it may have been outsourced), so if you can develop the skills it takes to get hired when you are not qualified, you should have a long and prosperous career where you can work even when the job market is weak.
Here are three ways you can get hired when you are not qualified for the job:
- Apply. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Well, most job seekers cut themselves out of the candidate pool for jobs they are not qualified for simply because when they read the description of the position, they think to themselves, “Oh, I’m not qualified for that position.” And they don’t apply for it.
Newsflash: most job descriptions and requirements describe the ideal candidate, but many of the individuals hired for specific positions are far from the ideal. This is because the person who writes the job descriptions doesn’t really have the best idea of what they want or need for the position.
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Submitted by editor on Thu, 07/10/2008 - 1:28pm.
Employment experts say that hiring managers usually make up their mind about a job candidate within the first twenty minutes of an interview, and they suggest that no matter what you do beyond that point, little can be done to change the mind of the hiring manager and get the job.
As such, all job candidates need to be especially mindful to show enthusiasm for the job for which they are interviewing, especially during the first twenty minutes of the interview. During the first twenty minutes of the interview, the majority of hiring managers are unconsciously screening potential candidates for enthusiasm about the job.
Having said that, the irony about most job hunters is that when they go into the interview, they are somewhat unsure as to whether or not they want the job, and they unconsciously resolve to make that decision based on what they learn in the interview.
While that is an excellent strategy that I recommend to job candidates going on interviews, in many cases this sort of “interview the interviewer” strategy tends to have the candidate exude curiosity, rather than outright enthusiasm when they interview—which in some cases may cost them the potential job. Instead, they show their enthusiasm towards the end of the interview (which some interviewers interpret as enthusiasm that interview is ending) or try to demonstrate their enthusiasm in a follow up thank you note or phone call.
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Submitted by elias rodriguez on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 4:03pm.
These days, the word “career” has taken on a whole new meaning. It used to be that having a career meant choosing a trade or a position in a certain industry and field and then working hard to make your way up the ladder until you could tell people you were successful in your career.
Now the word “career” basically means how you have spent and will spend your time after your education. If your resume is “all over the place” as an early version of mine once was, you may have tried out a number of different jobs simply because you were trying to find out what worked the best for you. And that’s not such a bad thing, considering that no college degree comes with the guarantee that you will love working in the field that you studied.
If you find that it is time to move in your career, here is what you need to do. Simply write down all of the things you think or know you would like to do and choose the one that will make you the most money.
I’m sure some of you are shocked by this advice, having heard throughout your life that you should follow your dreams. But it’s time to grow up and be realistic—unemployment is on the way up on the US. You may decide that now is the time to pursue your dream, but the reality is that it probably isn’t the best time (unless you have some money put away that you can live off of for awhile). But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a job that you will enjoy doing, which will provide you with some degree of satisfaction and self worth.
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Submitted by editor on Mon, 06/30/2008 - 8:37pm.
The first blog post I put up on this site was about how Americans tend to reluctant vacationers and how we work more and relax less than our European counterparts. The post dealt with the fact that Americans are notorious for not using all (and in some cases any) of their vacation time, while Europeans typically use most or all of theirs. This happens despite the fact that the American worker typically gets much less vacation time than his counterpart elsewhere in the world. And when we do take vacations, we typically check in with the office at least once while on vacation.
The current high prices for everything from corn flakes to gasoline along with the weak dollar have given birth to a new assault on the American vacation: the “staycation.” The staycation (which in my humble opinion is a direct result of our current economic condition) happens when the American worker uses up his vacation time, but simply doesn’t go anywhere. Instead of renting out that cabin by the lake for a week or two or taking that vacation to Canada (which, by the way, used to be substantially cheaper than the US) many American families are opting to take their vacation—at home.
Vacations are an essential part of working life, as they give us the opportunity to depart from the usual day to day grind and to recharge and renew. I remember being shocked to the core when I met a guy in New York City who had worked every day for ten years straight without taking a single sick, personal, or vacation day (3,650 consecutive days—beat that Cal Ripken, Jr.!). Though I was impressed, I certainly did not envy him.
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Submitted by editor on Mon, 06/23/2008 - 6:43pm.
There usually comes a time in everyone’s career when they question whether they’ve made the right decision. Some find that they have not, and feel that it may be time to change careers. They may be bored at their job tired of being passed up for a promotion at work, or even recently laid off. When an individual indentifies the need to change careers, he or she must also answer another question: how can I do it?
To effectively switch careers mid stream, you need to figure out which of two options work better for you. Should you take time to get more education, or should you work on improving and expanding your skill set and experience?
While both are viable options for career changers, the benefits of getting additional education and honing your existing skill set can be very different. I personally get very excited about the prospect of going back to school just because I love the opportunity to learn new things, network with classmates, alumni, and professors, and expanding my available career options.
But going back to school offers its own set of challenges. Getting into school itself can be costly and difficult, as you likely will have to take a test or series of tests (all of which require fees), pay application fees, and once accepted, find a way to pay for tuition. It’s much more than just deciding that you will go back to college and put forth the effort to do well in class. In addition, because you still need to eat, pay rent, and bills, you will need to decide if you want to go back to school full or part time. But no matter how you decide, going back to school will require that you sacrifice money or time to get the education you need to change the direction of your career.
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Submitted by editor on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 7:20pm.
When I first moved to New York City, I had a tough time finding a job. I was only using the newspaper at the time (this was a while back) and I wasn’t networking all that much because I didn’t know very many people in the city. One day, I went to an employment agency to seek help in finding a job and I received some valuable advice which I remember to this day.
The lady who was assisting me at the agency told me not only that I should make my job search my full time job, but she also told me two priceless words of advice: don’t settle.
When enduring a tough job search it is easy to take the first offer that comes along. You may be low on cash or tired of the hunt, but in many cases the first job that comes along might not be the best one for you. Here are four things you should consider before accepting any job offer:
Submitted by editor on Sat, 06/07/2008 - 12:17pm.
In one of my previous jobs, I remember being really angry that I was passed up for a promotion that I knew was mine. It turns out that I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina for two weeks the day before they listed the position at work, and I came back a few days after the position was removed.
I was upset that they did not even consider me, but I made it my business to do my best at my job and be vigilant for the next opportunity for promotion so that I could get it, which I did. But I also realized that the reason I wasn’t considered for the promotion was because I wasn’t around, so no one noticed the hard work I was doing because I wasn’t there to promote myself.
Working hard at your job is only one necessary component to getting a promotion. You also need to be noticed by the individuals who can give you that coveted promotion. In my humble opinion, getting promoted is only partly hard work, and mostly positioning yourself so that your hard work and dedication will be noticed by your boss and other company movers and shakers.
Here are three things that you can do to position yourself so that your hard work will be noticed so that you can get a promotion:
Submitted by editor on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 9:27pm.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year when it comes to being allowed to choose what you want to wear to work. As summer nears, many companies will begin to relax the dress standards in the office to allow employees to shed the suits and wear more casual and comfortable clothing to work.
However, there are employees who will not understand the dress code, even if it is spelled out for them. You can bet that every summer there are at least a few individuals who are sent home from work because they thought that wearing something like flip flops or a see through sarong to the office was a fashion statement, or even worse, a good idea.
It is to these individuals that I would like to direct this piece on what to wear to work this summer. I believe that most of us get the fact that even though it is summertime, the workplace is still the workplace, and certain dress standards must always be observed. In the grey area of personal style at work in the hot sexy summer months, it’s important to know the difference between what is stylish and sexy and what is too sexy and provocative.
Rather than go through a list of what is appropriate summer attire for work, I think I’ll go through what you shouldn’t do (by gender):
Women should not:
- Show too much cleavage. When a woman’s breasts are put on display in a low cut blouse, they can be terribly distracting to both men and women in the workplace. Nothing will take the focus off of your breakthrough marketing idea quicker than if you are wearing something that shows off your physical assets in a provocative way. If you must wear a low cut blouse, be sure to wear something under it, like a camisole or undershirt.
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Submitted by editor on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 1:43am.
Most employees know that it’s bad to swear at work. Not only is it unprofessional, but it reveals a certain baseness that should be reserved for the bottom of a tequila bottle the night you find out your wife ran off with your best friend or when the Yankees were swept 4-0 by the Red Sox after being up 3-0.
Swearing is inappropriate in many social circumstances, but it is absolutely inappropriate in the workplace. Not that it doesn’t happen— when I was working in New York I would usually hear as many f-words as were in Scorsese’s “Casino” in a matter of a few days. But whether it happens or not, lascivious lipped laborers everywhere should be on notice to wash their mouths out with soap, as swearing can also get you fired.
According to a survey of 2,520 executives by the TheLadders.com, foul language is the worst breach of all office manners. Nearly forty percent of the managers surveyed who have fired employees for violating office etiquette standards cited cursing as the reason for the termination.
When asked the reasons why executives fired employees, cursing at work scored higher than drinking at work (35 percent) and making too many personal calls (28 percent). But managers and executive are apparently much less forgiving than co-workers. When it comes to workplace offenses, even though 81 percent of co-workers dislike it when they hear swearing in the cubicle jungle, cussing is apparently not as bad as what 98 percent of respondents found to be the biggest offense: stealing food from the office refrigerator.
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Submitted by editor on Sat, 05/17/2008 - 11:53am.
I once met with the CEO of a now defunct chain of music stores (thank you iTunes) for breakfast. The purpose of the meeting was to talk about my employment options following my degree. He took one look at my resume and said, “Wow. You’re all over the place. Have you considered sales?”
He was right, because at that time in my life, much like many 20 and some 30 somethings, I knew I wanted to make lots of money, but I didn’t know how I wanted to do it. I knew I would rather do something I enjoyed than something I hated, but I just didn’t know what. I was kind of shocked when he made the remark, because it seemed to me at the time that he was grouping the somewhat confused with the nearly always stigmatized sales profession. Looking back, I am sure that wasn’t his intention.
As a matter of fact, the majority of salespeople that I have met throughout my career are well on top of their game, and for the most part make a lot of money. Salespeople are the heart and soul of any business in the world, because without salespeople, most businesses could not survive. Kind of like what happens if your heart stops and your soul moves on.
In my humble opinion, anyone can learn to be a salesman, but there are true naturals out there—most of whom don’t just have the gift of the gab. The truly successful salespeople not only have the material rewards to show for their efforts, but they also have a certain gift that they were either born with or worked hard to acquire. Successful sales people have the gift of identifying what their clients need and matching those needs to what they can offer to the client.
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