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Looking for a new job, whether it is with a new company or a promotion within your own organisation, requires time and effort. To make your job search more effective you need to take five fundamental steps on the road to success:

• Analysing your skills

• Writing a winning Resume

• Managing your job search

• Coaching for interview success

• Negotiating your job offer

Step 1: Analysing your Skills

The most crucial step in the job search process is to assess what skills you have to offer to your future boss. At an interview you will have to tell your story. An interviewer will not remember your precise details, but they will remember your story, once it is filled with practical examples.

This means that you have to be able to explain the four ‘what’s’ of your job:

• What do you do?

• What skills do you require to successfully carry out your role?

• What have you achieved?

• What benefit did your company get from employing you?

The answers to these questions can be used to draft a one-minute sound bite of the skills that you have to offer to your future boss. This sales pitch should incorporate details about your role, your achievements and your personal qualities and should be tailored to the position you are applying for.

For example, ‘experienced Software Engineer who has worked in a multinational telecommunications environment; part of a team that developed an innovative process for a groundbreaking platform; proficient in all aspects of the development life cycle; used a variety of languages particularly C++ and Java; excellent organisational skills combined with a practical and resourceful approach to problem solving’.

Step 2: Writing a Winning Resume

This summary of your skills becomes the cornerstone of your resume. Your resume must be tailored to the needs of your future boss so customise it accordingly.

Here are some guidelines to assist you to write a winning resume:

Aim for a two-page resume - page one should be devoted to how your skills match the position with a emphasis on your recent career details. Page two to your less recent career history, education, training and relevant personal details. Decide on your key selling points. Provide evidence of this experience. Include quantification - reduction in costs, increase in efficiency, improvement in processes, saving in time, etc.

Use simple, jargon free words - if techno speak is required, explain it! Decide on the style after the structure and content have been finalised.

Step 3: Managing your Job Search

The third step to securing your job search success is to manage the process. There are three elements to effectively managing your job search process:

• Controlling channels

• Analysing jobs

• Constructing compelling cover letters

Controlling channels

There are four distinct job search channels. Draw on all four to maximise your success:

1. Contacts - use (in a positive sense!) all of the people that you know, both professionally and personally.

2. Media - this includes newspapers (both national and local) and professional/trade magazines.

3. Agencies - access both online sources and the more traditional recruitment agencies.

4. Direct approach - get in touch with companies that require your skills set.

Analysing jobs

Each job that you apply for is different, so you have to analyse its requirements to ensure a match between you and the role. This entails assessing the job description, the person specification and the environment within which the role operates. Draw up a checklist of the skills required for that job. If you have at least a 60% match, apply!

Constructing compelling cover letters

Your cover letter (typed!) should contain three paragraphs:

• Why you are applying for the job

• How your skills match the requirements of the position

• What outcome you want to achieve (an interview!)

Step 4: Coaching for Interview Success

Your interviewer wants to know two things - can you do the job and will you fit in. Your RESUME prompts the interviewer’s questions in relation to ‘can you do the job’. These questions revolve around the who, what, when, where, how and why of your current job (the technical details of your job).

The issue of whether you will fit in is crucial to your interview success. You may be technically superb, but if your interviewer believes that you will ‘upset the applecart’, he/she will not hire you. This means that your interview preparation should also concentrate on the non-technical aspects of your role. For example, how you relate to your colleagues and boss, how you have contributed to your team, how you have resolved potential interpersonal difficulties, etc.

Regardless of whether you are talking about the technical aspects of your job, or the non-technical elements, use real life examples to illustrate your point. Provide a picture in the interviewer’s mind of the competent, capable person that you are.

Step 5: Managing your Job Offer

Following a successful interview, build on your success by negotiating an attractive job offer. This involves maximising your remuneration package and ensuring that your contract of employment exceeds the legal minimum.

Know what you own requirements are but make sure that they are in line with the reality of today’s labour market. You also need to ensure that all of your referees give you a glowing reference and that they emphasise the skills that you want highlighted.

Imagine yourself sitting in an employer’s desk with hundreds of resumes falling in on your desk against a vacancy declared by you in your company.

Number of vacancy - 1, and number of applicants - innumerable.

As an employer it is your responsibility to select the most deserving, suitable and competent candidate. So it is up to the candidate to snatch the employer’s attention out of those hundreds of resume application. As such, writing a resume is all about knowing what employers specifically look for in an applicant’s application. So, never make the mistake of underestimating the importance of a “good and eye-catching resume”.

Now, a good and a perfect resume is not an allegory. Neither has it anything to do with the elite schools or exceptional work experience. A blue collar worker may have a exceptional CV, while the resume of a white collar professional may have a poorly written one. A good resume is your first step at the door of a good job; you must well-understand that it is your representative to an employer before you get there. A resume centers round the detailed info about a candidate that is truthful, brief and to the point; not something that is exaggerated or unnecessarily long.

There are certain things that a good and perfect curriculum vita has within its set margins.

1. First of all, decide the format of your resume. Decide whether you want it to be in a functional or chronological format.

2. Write your resume in active verbs.

3. Highlight your skills and objectives. Make it your resume headline.

4. Be specific about your professional background. If you are an experienced person, mention your tenure with previous employers; and in case you are a fresher, define your professional qualifications.

5. Define your current pay scale. And don’t forget to put down your expected salary.

6. If your CV is targeted towards a specific career path or employer, then you must know all their requirements and mention them in your resume very clearly. Research and know the qualities that will prove to be beneficial to the employer and think about how your capabilities match those qualities.

7. Next, be particular to provide every minute personal detail. Highlight your contact details.

8. Be professional, concise, brief and clean. Avoid from being too flashy with your resume design.

9. Stick to writing one page cover letter as far as possible.

10. Last but not the least, be sure to edit and re-edit your resume once you are done with writing it.

Remember, the objective of your resume is to unleash your accomplishments and qualifications to the employer’s committee. Think it to be a promotional brochure, a pamphlet displaying your organizational and career skills.

How Important are Job Resumes in Securing the Perfect Job?

The function of outstanding job resumes is to get the attention of your potential employer. More than simply a listing of your accomplishments, education, skills and experience; a job resume is the first point of contact you have with the company with whom you are seeking employment. No matter what skill set you bring to the table, if your resume isn’t effectively presented, you may find it difficult to locate work. In the reverse, if you haven’t had a lot of experience, a polished resume that presents the talents and ambitions you do possess can secure you a job with unlimited potential for growth. Before setting out to look for a new job, make sure your resume presents the skills you have to offer in the best possible light. Many employers will not even offer an interview to prospective employees with lackluster job resumes.

Types of Job Resumes

Job resumes may be structured in several different ways to focus on your best qualities, while downplaying your limitations. Today’s employers are looking for innovative employees that will bring value to their business. Submitting a standout resume is one way to express your individual abilities and ambition. Different types of job resumes include:

* Reverse Chronological Resumes &ndash These job resumes focus on your employment history by listing your previous employment starting with your latest position. Chronological resumes detail your growth as an employee and are best suited for people who have a strong employment background and documented experience. Educational information and additional skills are typically noted at the bottom of these job resumes.

* Functional Resumes &ndash The functional resume gives less resonance to experience and highlights, instead, the skills that you have to offer. Functional resumes generally list your stellar qualifications at the top of the page, while providing some details of how the skills were obtained&ndashincluding school and work experience&ndashtowards the latter half of the page. Skill-based resumes are the best choice for workers that are new to the job market, or have not worked in quite some time.

* Combination Resumes &ndash A combination resume takes the focus on skills from the Functional resume and merges it with the employment history, for a complete package of your qualifications. These job resumes present the most well rounded details and can be used by almost anyone to effectively gain employment.

Seeking Professional Help for Writing Job Resumes

If you’re not certain of the resume choice that’s right for your qualifications, or if you just want the best possible resume, you might want to seek the help of a professional resume writing service. For a minimal fee, professional writers can formulate top quality job resumes that can be used to market your skills. A resume writing service will present your personal employment history and qualifications in a manner that will stand out to potential employers. It’s really a small investment to make for a profitable future at your new job.

For more information please visit .resume-writing-tips.org