Career Communiqué Blog

In this fortnight’s issues of Career Communiqué x-Press I spoke about how I am trying to be more environmentally friendly at home and in the office. This includes:

• Installing a tank to collect water both for our garden and topping up our pool.
• Using a solar blanket on our pool to reduce water evaporation.
• Using both sides of a piece of paper when printing in order to save paper.
• Using email more than mailing out correspondence to save paper.

Our chief editor, Lyn (and her daughter Ceilidh) are also extremely conscious about the environment. Lyn forwarded the following tip:

This fortnight’s question comes from Edward , when he asks:

Dear Annemarie

“I have a Masters Degree in Commerce (Business Studies),B.Com(Accts) and Dip. in Computer Science. How well do I put these together to make a killer résumé?”

Edward

Dear Edward

With any résumé, it is imperative that the information you present is focused and specific to the role you are applying for. If you present a lot of information that is not relevant and does not add value to being able to perform the job functions, then it would not be wise to include this information. Your résumé would probably be screened out of the running.

Having said that however, by researching the job functions and understanding what the organisation is looking for in their successful candidate, you may be able to identify transferable skills and knowledge throughout your course assignments that would indeed be relevant to the role you are targeting. This of course would be important to reflect within your résumé.

Remember, it must be relevant, results-focused (i.e. the outcome and how it would/could benefit the organisation) and concise.

All the very best Edward. Drop me a line at annemarie@annemariecross.com Let me know how you go.

Annemarie

Following on from our ‘Building your professional network’ article in last fortnight’s edition of x-Press, I had a number of emails from people asking about the best way to approach their contacts in order to find out about possible job opportunities and continue to increase their list of contacts.

Many people think leveraging their direct network of contacts is the only way to source possible job opportunities. If this is what you are currently doing, then you are missing out on numerous potential opportunities. Don’t make the same mistake by thinking that when we refer to networking it is only your direct network that can support you in tapping into the hidden job market.

When thinking about making contact with your professional network it is important to realise that the people in your direct network may not know of potential job opportunities, however the people in their direct professional network may. So when making contact with them, it is important that you continue building your potential list of contacts by tapping into your contacts’ wider network.

For instance, you may know ‘Joe’ who is in your direct network, however Joe does not know of any potential job opportunities. Joe however knows ‘Peter’ who works within the HR department for a very large organisation in the industry that you are trying to tap into. So in your discussions with Joe, it is important that you are able to get Peter’s contact details so that you can connect with him. Peter would be considered part of your ‘extended’ network. When making contact with Peter, it is important that while introducing yourself, you mention ‘Joe’ and that he recommended you get in contact with Peter.

Here are a few more strategies to support you in leveraging your professional network, so that you too, can tap into the hidden job market.

Read more…

This fortnight’s question comes from Woofie, when he asks:

Dear Annemarie,

“What is the best way for me to get an interview in Australia?”

Woofie

Dear Woofie,

You didn’t indicate whether you were already in Australia or whether you were located overseas. Nevertheless, here are some of the ‘must do’ job search strategies that you should be implementing:

1. Ensure you have a results-driven and accomplishment-based professional résumé that is focused specifically on your job target and portrays your expertise and the value you offer a potential employer. This is a crucial document and must position you as a top candidate and worthy of an invitation to interview.

2. Ensure you continue to reach out and leverage your network of contacts to enable you to get yourself in front of key decision makers for job opportunities that are being advertised.

3. Review and apply to online job boards such as www.mycareer.com.au or www.seek.com.au

4. Make contact with recruitment agencies and forward them a copy of your résumé. To find reputable recruitment agencies within Australia go to: www.rcsc.com.au Go to: [Member Directory and search by State, Post Code, Specialisation, and Function].

5. Research, preparation and responding appropriately to behavioural-based questions are often areas in which job seekers fail miserably. Be as prepared as possible and ensure your interviewing skills are up to scratch

All the very best Woofie. Drop me a line at annemarie@annemariecross.com Let me know how you go

Annemarie

One of the best methods that will support you in maximising your overall job search campaign is your professional network. Yet how often do I hear clients comment that their network of contacts is one thing they only seem to follow up on when it’s time to make a career move. This may be true for you too.

It is well known that many job opportunities are never advertised (termed the ‘hidden job market’) - in fact, many industry studies and surveys have found this to be a staggering figure of 70-80%.

According to revelations from the 2006 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report (as reported from ExecuNet):

70% of companies do not post job opportunities that are offering salaries within the high six figure range; and that.

Networking outpaces online job postings by 6 to 1 in successful job searches.

Despite the increase of online job boards and job postings, learning that you can increase your success 6 to 1 just by leveraging your professional network through networking, I hope, is enough to prompt you to start building your contact database today!

Read more…

This fortnight’s question comes from Michael, when he asks:

Dear Annemarie,

“At age 50, how can I ‘enter’ the workforce profitably in the field of my initial training after running a small home office business in a different field as a stay-at-home Dad? I would like to continue operating my business while pursuing additional work opportunities in this new field on a part-time basis.”

Michael

Dear Michael,

This fortnight’s article is relevant to your situation so I would encourage you to follow the steps as outlined in the article. In particular to your situation (which is within the HR/psychology field):

Find out exactly what organisations are looking for and make sure you can identify these relevant skills, knowledge and experience through your work involvements.

Even through your business in another industry, I’m confident that your involvements and achievements would highlight strengths, skills and capabilities that would be transferable to the role you are applying for.

- Consider complexities of the projects you worked on and the successes you were able to deliver to your clients;

- Determine the relevant skills and experiences in your business operations such as the hiring and management of contractors/part-time staff and other HR-related functions.

- Your academic pursuits (relevant to your current job target), can portray relevant knowledge and experience through successful projects and assignments you completed as part of your course requirements. Did you out-score other class participants or achieve High Distinctions for various subjects during your course?

You mentioned going back to work on a part-time basis, so in the research you are doing, it would be advantageous to find out which organisations would require part-time HR support. I would imagine that larger companies would require full-time staff, so perhaps small to medium size organisations who do not require full-time HR staff may benefit from your services on a part-time basis. You may consider contracting your HR support and expertise to SME businesses in and around your local area.

Existing clients or contacts in your database may be a very good place to start, as you have already established a relationship with them, causing them to be more receptive to you as you pitch your proposal. You may even consider doing a pro bono project for them and use this success as a case study and testimonial as you continue marketing your services to other prospective clients.

As you can see, further research to establish who your target market is and their needs is vital and should allow you to begin tailoring your marketing messages and proposals accordingly.

All the very best Michael – please keep in touch and let me know you go!

Annemarie

If you have a similar story or suggestion you want to share with Michael, please go ahead and leave your comments here.

Following on from our article Career Change: Four simple steps to support your career transition in last fortnight’s edition of Career Communiqué x-Press to support you in determining a suitable career path, the next step in your journey is to create a résumé that will portray relevant skills, experience and successes to support your move.

While having a powerful résumé is important for all job seekers actively seeking new employment, it is especially important if the job seeker is targeting a role and/or industry that are completely different from their most current role or industry in which they are working.

Many job seekers making a significant change in their career can often experience disappointment because they fail to demonstrate relevance and capabilities within their résumés.

If you are making a career change, to avoid disappointment, here are 3 crucial and easy-to-follow steps you should follow when creating your professional résumé.

Read more…

This fortnight’s question comes from Shantha, when she asks:

Dear Annemarie,

“I want to know how I could change from being a Lab Technician for the plastic industry to the environmental industry. I am a single mother and have to have a full-time job. I am a hard worker and have good reports from my workplaces.

I want to come up in life but somehow it has been a struggle to get what I want. Could you kindly help? ”

Thanking You.

Best Wishes,
Shantha T.

Dear Shantha,

Thank you for your question. There are a number of important things you should be doing when considering a career change from one position or industry to another. In summary:

1. Ensure you have researched your target role and industry so that you are aware of the skills, knowledge and qualifications that a prospective employer would be looking for in a suitable candidate
2. Identify whether or not you require any additional training and which educational institutions or courses would be most suitable and fit in with your current work/family obligations.
3. Analyse your current skill set and experience to identify transferable skills and achievements that are relevant to your job target.
4. Make sure your résumé identifies these transferable skills and achievements in a marketable way so that you would be considered suitable for the role.

A search for ‘jobs in the environmental industry’ on Google returned a few initial resources that you may like to check out to begin your research:

http://www.environmentaljobs.com.au/envjobs2.pdf

www.IndustryJobs.com.au

Remember that in career change situations it is important to identify your relevant, transferable skills so that you would be considered as a viable candidate for the role. If you do have relevant skills and experience, however are still not receiving opportunities to interview, then you should look at rewriting and strengthening your résumé. We have written numerous articles on résumé writing, or alternatively you may like to consider our award-winning résumé development services.

Good luck Shantha!

All the very best!

Annemarie

Do you have a suggestion or similar story that you would like to share with Shantha? Please feel free to share you comments here.

Career Change: Four simple steps to support your career transition

The prospect of making a change in your career focus can be daunting for anyone, particularly if you have been working in the industry/position for a considerable amount of time.

You may be interested to learn that in the course of our working lives we can expect to make several significant career changes, whether voluntary (our own choice) or involuntary (company restructures). The workplace has changed significantly from the days where you got your qualification, secured a job and worked for 20-30 years and even saw out your retirement with the same company. In fact, young people now entering the workforce are being advised to expect that they will make around 7-8 major career changes throughout their working lives, which is quite significant.

Whatever your reason for wanting to make a change in your career there are a number of things that you will need to consider, with two of the most important aspects being which direction to follow and how to develop a résumé that you market your existing skills and experience in a manner that is relevant and applicable to the role for which you are applying.

Today we will be covering four simple steps to assist you in determining a suitable career focus and in the next edition of Career Communiqué x-Press we will be covering how to create a powerful career change résumé that gets noticed.

1. Dream/Envision: Establishing a clear vision and positive frame of mind

Just as embarking on a holiday without any preparation or planning would have you driving aimlessly in circles never quite reaching your destination, so too does not having a vision, a target, or intention with your job and career. How can you possibly begin to work towards your goals and your dreams if you don’t have a clear vision of where you want to be?

Read more…

This fortnight’s question comes from Audrey, when she asks:

Dear Annemarie

How do I respond to a question where I feel I may not have a lot of experience in but know that when exposed to it I will be able to work it out, it might just take me some time? Simply I would like to come across with more conviction. Audrey.

Dear Audrey,

Great question! People generally don’t realise that a job is seldom given to the person with the most experience or qualifications – but rather, is offered to the person who connects well with the interviewer and is able to demonstrate a fit with the organisation and their requirements by ‘selling’ their expertise and value on offer.
If you find that you lack extensive experience in one certain area, there are a few things you can do.

1. Show the interviewer that you are familiar with the competencies expected to perform that function; demonstrate those competencies in other areas of your experience; and finish by confirming these skills are certainly transferable to the job functions.

2. You may like to confirm your ability to learn and apply things with ease, providing the interviewer with an example where you have done this (including the outcome for your employer) and confirm that you have no hesitation that you could learn to perform this new function with ease to a level as expected by the company. [Stop speaking and remember to smile.]

Remember, 95% of the impact of communication is coming from your body language/mannerisms and your voice, so it is important that when you speak to the interviewer that you do so in a professional manner so that you come across as credible.

Good luck Audrey! If you think that some interview coaching around this topic would accelerate your level of success in your interviewing outcomes, you may want to consider our Interviewing Success Program.

All the very best!

Annemarie