Career Development: Isn’t It Time to Land the Job of Your Dreams?

Happy New Year!

Of the many resolutions people make at the beginning of a new year, a common one is to change jobs. Oftentimes, a new year acts as a catalyst to seek a new job and the benefits of a better boss, an improved quality of work life, or a nice increase in one’s compensation. If you are seeking a new gig, this should help.

Craft A Killer Resume
Getting contacted about job opportunities is all about the quality of your resume and cover letter. How you look on paper can literally change your life! Crafting a resume that gets hiring managers to begin envisioning you in the job is no easy feat. If you are not an expert in understanding what hiring managers are looking for, which today is a moving target your resume will fall on the “do not contact” pile. Enlist the help of someone who knows how to write your cover letter and resume so that you are seen as a strongly viable candidate for the roles you would love to have.

Know What Your “Must Haves” Are
Looking for a job sucks! There, I said it. Oftentimes, we become emotionally exhausted in our search efforts. And if you are out of work, you are also feeling stressed. Add to it other factors, such as being an older person, and it is easy to say yes when it would have been better to say no to an offer. With fingers crossed, we hope that the vibes we picked up such as your potential boss having some personality quirks, or that a considerable portion of the job is boring, were misreads on our parts. Trust your intuition and sixth sense. The euphoria you felt from being hired will not last very long if the things that made you apprehensive to begin with become real. Then you will be right back where you started.

Buyer Beware
Great interviewers are persuasive. They know how to present and discuss the less than satisfying aspects of a job in ways that do not make them sound that onerous. A “challenging work environment” might be a less than forthright way of describing a frenetic one that has so many balls in the air that you will end your workday exhausted from juggling them. Comments like, “there is a strong emphasis on productivity” might be a subtle way of saying that your actual workload might be larger than the compensation for the role.

Be super inquisitive. Intellectual curiosity is an asset that almost every employer values. So, show off yours!

I have seen far too many people stay far too long at their jobs. Perhaps it is time for you to land the job of your dreams.

For a complimentary evaluation of your resume and a copy of, Strategies for a Job and Career Change, you can contact me at donaldbenenson@yahoo.com