I love the first part of this quote because it’s true! You, yes YOU really can do anything!
You can achieve any goal, you can climb over any obstacle you can conquer any challenge and you can prove to any doubters that they are wrong. Yes readers, you name it, you can do it! Whether your goal is to become a C level Executive, win a Nobel Piece Prize, save the Whales or fly a kite in Kambah.
There is a catch though…. If you want to be able to do anything, then you first need to work out what it is that you want to do?
Not a straight forward task, since we have already established that you can do anything! You have a lot to choose from!
Think about what you love, think about what you want out of you life, think about where you want to live and how you want to live. All of these things will help you to narrow down to that one career path that you would truly love to pursue.
Once you know what you want to achieve, hit the ground running – firmly focused on the end result. Invest the time to work out the steps that you need to take to achieve your goals. Once focused, be 120% committed to taking those steps. Don’t try to do everything. Choose one thing and be amazing at it! Most importantly…. never forget to believe in you and be proud of your choices. Go for it!
By Lisa O’Brien
www.careerscoach.com.au ; Career Advice, available 24 hours.
As lisa about our limited offer for student resumes: lisa@careerscoach.com.au
As you are sitting reading blog article….imagine an employer across town reading through hundreds of job applications for a position that they are recruiting.
Bombarded with a hundred plus applications, they read through each of them blearily eyed as they go. Slowly making their way through one-hundred plus resumes to narrow them down to the best 20, then down to the best 10 and then down to the best 5. Once down to the top 5 resumes, they call each of those applicants in for an interview.
Of the resumes 20% will be from people who are not qualified for the position at all. 30% of the resumes will be from people who just did not bother to stick to the required format and sent in resumes that were too long or did not demonstrate their position relevant experience. Another 30% of the resumes will be from people who probably could do the job but just don’t seem to have the right specific experience or just don’t seem as strong as other candidates. 20% of the resumes will be from applicants who on paper look like they could do the job. Choosing the top 5 candidates to interview will come down to some very specific factors. These factors will include having worked in the exact/more desirable or similar position elsewhere, having worked for a worthy competitor, having demonstrated skills/experience that the organisation needs to acquire, having a track record of making high contributions/achievements, demonstrating a fit to the organisational cultural.
Each time 100 applicants apply for a position you have a 5% chance of winning an interview. With odds like that, your resume better be good! Job and Organisation specific good!
Following are my top tips for creating a resume that will give you the best chance of winning an interview:
- Tailor your resume to the job – emphasising your job specific experience
- Stick to 2-3 pages in length – no-one has time to read a long resume
- Be specific – it shows good communication skills
- Include achievements – employers want to know that you are results oriented
- Research the culture of the organisation – reflect this in your resume
- Follow up with a phone call
- Get a professional resume writer to write it for you
Resume help!: http://careerscoach.com.au/services/resume-services
Picture this…2 candidates arrive for a job interview. They both have the same level of education. They both have the same amount of job specific professional experience. One candidate is wearing a suit. The other is dressed casually.
Who do you think makes the best first impression? Based on first impressions, who do you think will be more likely to win the job?
First impressions count. Wearing a suit to an interview shows a potential employer that you are serious. That you take the job seriously and that you respect them. It shows that you care.
More than that, most people associate suits with professionalism and success. It gives the clear message that it would be a good decision to give you the job.
If you stop to consider the amount of hard work that you have put into reaching this point in your career. The years of study, the hard won professional experience, the hours of searching for the right job, the cost of preparing a job application and the interview preparation. It really is worth wearing a suit to the interview.
Wear a suit! Suits work!
Finding a new job is time consuming and challenging. Employer expectations for candidates at all levels is high!
Resumes need to be short, well written and must emphasize your qualifications and experience as they relate to the role. Gaps in your experience need to be explained. Resume search engines mean that the structure and wording used in the resume is critical to ensure that you come up on job searches when applying for jobs through recruitment agencies. A professional Resume Writing organisation like CareersCoach will ensure that your resume wins interviews. Order Now! lisa@careerscoach.com.au
Cover letters are essential and must be short and succinct summarising why you suit the role. Many employers will not even consider an application, unless it includes a cover letter. A professional application writing organisation like CareersCoach will ensure that your cover letter emphasizes all of you key job specific strengths. Order Now! lisa@careerscoach.com.au
Government employers and many private enterprise employers require applicants to respond to job specific selection criteria. This involves preparing responses that sell the candidates strengths for the position. Many highly skilled, extremely talented applicants struggle to complete responses to selection criteria. At CareersCoach we love writing responses to selection criteria applications. We get a buzz out of selling your strengths to the employer. Order Now! lisa@careerscoach.com.au
Job interviews are intimidating. Many employers conduct panel interviews. They expect applicants to be confident and well prepared to answer tough interview questions. No problem by the time our interview coach is finished with you, you will have the interviewers eating out of your hand. Order Now! lisa@careerscoach.com.au
For a quotation or to Order Now! lisa@careerscoach.com.au
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Do you ever feel like jumping on top of your desk and just screaming “get me a payrise right now”! Whilst stamping your feet and thrashing your arms about for dramatic affect. Or there is always the fantasy of phoning in and very calmly explaining to the boss that… “No I will not be attending work to clean up your latest mess until my salary demands are met:)”.
DO NOT TRY ANY OF THE ABOVE!
It’s a sad fact that good old fashioned hard work and results do not always add up to recognition and getting paid a fair price for your efforts. A fact that is a teeny bit frustrating if your boss seems clueless and looks down on those who are less cashed up.
Reality is that there is a time and a place to ask for a payrise and strategy is everything. Do not ask for a payrise during a round of retrenchments. Do ask for a payrise when business is skyrocketing and when your contribution is critical to this success. As in any business situation it pays to be prepared and when asking for more money to know what you are worth else where.
For help to strategise a payrise or to book a coaching session contact: lisa@careerscoach.com.au
For government selection criteria applications and resumes, e-mail lisa@careerscoach.com.au for a quotation and list of free interview tips.
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For an immediate and urgent need for career counselling simply click here to our live person career counselling.
Did you leap out of bed this morning, race in to work, a buzz with excitement at the challenges that lay before you in corporate paradise?
Or was your start to today more along the lines of….dragging yourself out of bed after having to switch the dreaded alarm off half a dozen times. Followed by: gulping down, a strong coffee, then: running to catch the bus. Once on the bus, looking sadly out the window and wishing that you were on your way to pretty much anywhere else.
It’s normal to enjoy your weekends and so important for work life balance. But if dread is what you feel come Monday morning, then S_T_O_P, take stock and assess the situation. Sometimes people are unhappy at work because of stress or conflict. These stresses are serious and if not acknowledged and dealt with will wear you down over time.
Sometimes people are frustrated because they are simply in the wrong job or have just not achieved their full potential.
Whatever the case it’s time to make some changes. Sometimes all it takes to achieve a big shift in job satisfaction is to open up lines of communication with your manager. Or adjust your own work processes. But other times bigger steps are required.
As Jim Rohn, has been famously quoted as saying: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much”.
This week, take charge: design a career path that makes you leap for career joy!
Do the yes men and women in your office score all of the opportunities, pay rises and promotions? While the actual hard working, intelligent and high contributing employees just get overlooked time and time again?
Winston Churchill once famously said “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”.
It makes me wonder, would your employer realise how much you give if you are seen to be a no person? Sometimes it pays to be strategic and just say yes.
In saying that, there is also a time and a place to say no. Saying no can give you the chance to negotiate a better deal for yourself. Maybe even a better outcome for your employer. You just need to time it right and sell your point of view. Think of it this way…everyone is in sales, even if it is not in your job title.
Do you often feel let down by your team? Are your team members missing deadlines that then slow your progress down? Are your colleagues delivering poor quality work that reflects on you? Do you wonder how you can possibly achieve your very best and fly like an Eagle when you are surrounded by Turkeys?
Thomas Edison was famously quoted as saying “The reason a lot of people don’t recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work”.
I love this quote because it highlights that there is opportunity in every problem. A chance for you to stand up, be part of the solution and shine like the star you are!
Think about it… the rafter of Turkeys that are pulling you down could launch your career to greater heights. All you have to do is work out what the problem is and how it can be fixed. There is always a solution. Be the one to find it.
If you are like many people, you probably spend most of your waking hours at work. For this reason, it makes sense for you to get the most out of your career. Win the job of your dreams, set and achieve your career goals or change career direction.
CareersCoach offers you the following services and products to achieve all of these things at prices that you can afford:
For more information on any of the above, as well as personal coaching and corporate coaching, contact us here.
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