Job Search Tip of the Day September 20, 2012 If you decide to start your own business, understand that your "job search" will not be over; it will be an everyday reality that will go by the name of "clients" or "customers." Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
1. Discover unique facts about them that others may know- particularly their philanthropic initiatives. 2. Keep all of them straight- don't tell the Phillips 66 guy that you are excited about potentially joining the Shell team.
You are very welcome, sir. Man, I'm starting to come up dry some days- I told myself I would post 365 tips, one for each day, between 7/10/2012 and 7/10/2013. Whew.
Job Search Tip of the Day September 21, 2012 If you start a business, it is imperative that you join at least one, if not more, of your industry's professional associations. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 22, 2012 Make sure to enact the Privacy features on Monster, Career Builder, and other sites where you post your resume. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 23, 2012 If you are a recent college graduate, include your G.P.A. on your resume if it is above 3.0; if it is below 3.0, leave it off. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 24, 2012 If you are a consultant and you are not allowed to reveal your clients' names on the resume, use a description. EX: "Fortune 100 Pharmaceutical Corporation" for Pfizer Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 25, 2012 Conduct thorough research before you sign up for a work-at-home opportunity: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/workfromhome/a/workathomejobs.htm Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 26, 2012 Don't assume that a company will not pay for relocation; make sure to ask about this at the time of the job offer, even if it is to cover some of the costs. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 27, 2012 For IT professionals, group your Technology Skills into categories on your resume, such as Software, O/S, Networking, etc. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Job Search Tip of the Day September 28, 2012 Read Resume Magic, by Susan Whitcomb, for excellent advice on resume writing. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
Dan, Do you have any tips for an elevator speech for a career fair? The UT Engineering Expo is tomorrow and I'm a 3rd year PhD student looking for an internship for summer '12 (have ~3 yrs left). There will only be 4-5 companies that could have interest in me, but what can I say about my research to reel them in? For the technical people in the company, the specific topic of my research would probably not interest them, but the area should. How do I get them curious about my specific topic? Thanks for any help
Job Search Tip of the Day September 29, 2012 Read Cover Letters for Dummies, by Joyce Lain Kennedy, for excellent advice on cover letter writing. Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
"Currently, my research is in (NAME OF AREA), specifically in (NAME OF TOPIC). What is interesting about (NAME OF TOPIC) is (CONSIDER TELLING THEM SOMETHING THAT MIGHT PIQUE THEIR INTEREST). The main thing is to be enthusiastic about your topic, regardless of how they feel about it. No matter what, they can appreciate someone being excited about their field of study. If you can connect your topic in any way with their interest, that would be the best. Example from sales- if I'm talking to a group of people who sell pharmaceuticals, and I sell cars, they're probably not going to be interested in how I sell cars. However, they might be interested in the fact that I do extensive research on the cars, including technical details, since they have to do extensive research for their type of sales. And I might say something like, "But the research I do is nothing compared to what you all have to do!" And then I might ask them about how they have to study pharmaceuticals. So, another thing is to ask them about their company, and show general interest in what they are saying.
Job Search Tip of the Day September 30, 2012 Know and use the top job search sites: http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/294523/the-10-best-job-search-websites/10 Dan Dorotik, Nationally Certified Resume Writer; President, 100PercentResumes www.100percentresumes.com / contact@100percentresumes.com / 806-783-9900
The something that might pique their interest is the hard part for me (putting myself in their shoes and finding the interesting nugget), but I'll keep thinking. I really like this piece of advice, that they will appreciate my interest in the work - this will be the crux of my little talk when I come face to face with a technical guy at the fair. I can definitely talk about my subject without inhibition. I'll definitely do this - helps to get more information from the employee. I haven't been very good at the small talk, which is what I'll be doing the majority of the time I expect, as most reps at the career fair are going to be UT BSc holders who will only have an idea of the technical stuff. Thanks, this helps quite a bit!
That's the whole key- putting yourself in their place. Like, if I'm a programmer and I'm talking to someone in HR, they probably won't be interested in the fine details of my job. However, I can explain it to them in terms they'll understand, like, "What was really cool (well, probably best to say "beneficial) about my last project is that I worked with employees from 3 different countries on it. It was a challenge trying to memorize all the time zones so that I wouldn't call my team member in Germany at 3 in the morning and such, you know?" Stuff like that.
So over the last few weeks I had been reading this "Occupation Thread" and only thinking about adding myself to it... but I switched jobs two weeks ago. I used to be a "Web & Unix Administrator" at a university here in Houston but now I am a "Learning Management System Administrator" at another university. On my free weekends, I'm a freelance photographer and like to dabble in video productions for events, but I'm a one-man show... it's a small production... unlike them large editing companies. I mostly cater to "hispanic???? " peeps, and know what they like. Mostly, it's low-income families who don't want to pay exorbitant amounts for a small gig. I guess my point is that I wished I would have read all your tips sooner... to maybe get a "better" job somewhere else, but I'm happy with what I have now, and will set my limits higher for the next time. Thanks.
Never worry too much about where you are right now. Anyone can progress in their career at any time. You WILL get a better job in the future (this is the advice I've given myself at several points in my career).
I just follow Cristina Saralegui's advice: "ALWAYS Move UP. Never move DOWN." This current move was a "lateral" move. It saved my play from scrimmage by doing this lateral, because I was going to get tackled for a loss just before doing the lateral.
