How to explain job hopping in your interview

Job hopping will incredibly rewarding in terms of experience could spell disaster for your long term career. A spate of short lived jobs could raise the suspicion of any recruiter wary of hiring anyone with a spotty job history. While job hopping has become fairly common today with the competitive job market, it doesn’t mean that a history of short term jobs are going to be appealing to all employers.

Before you go into the interview you should have a ready and acceptable answer for the job hopping in your resume. Plan what you’re going to say and how you’re going to make yourself invaluable to the company. Take the initiative and address the issue during the interview. You could then put the right spin on the situation. I wouldn’t say outright lie but you should present valid reasons for leaving the job. In the tight career market career moves are brought on by better offers or having the company closed. You don’t have to be ashamed of your job history but instead you should focus on the future and on not making the same mistakes as before.

You should also emphasize all the good you have done in your previous jobs. If you single handedly saved the company from bankruptcy the interview would be a good time to bring it up. Your accomplishments could swing the balance over to your side.

Play up on your skills and knowledge in relation to the position you are applying for. Give them a concise history of the industry and their company. Keep your prospective employers focused on your positive traits.

It would help if you also have letters of recommendation from your past employers. If you could provide proof that you weren’t completely useless at your last jobs, it would go a long way to erasing any doubts the recruiter may still have.

If you’ve done all of this and the recruiter is still wary of hiring you, don’t get defensive. As they say and as you can attest, there are other jobs in the sea. You may not be the right person for the job.

Dealing with Gaps in your work history

Sometimes circumstances totally out of your control force you out of your job for a length of time. Or you could have simply walked out of the office one day and decided to tour the world. For whatever reason gaps in your work history don’t bode well for your long term career. Employees are extremely fishy of finding a semblance of  a job hopper in potential employees or a even heaven forbid a stint in prison. The trick is to gain your employer’s trust and to adequately explain those employment gaps.

You can lessen the suspicion by using only years instead of months when you write your work history. This makes it easier for the employer to quickly grasp the length of time between your jobs. Another way would be to use a functional resume instead of a chronological one. A functional resume lists your experience in skills clusters. This type of resume would work well for those with very diverse experiences, those in a technical profession and those with a complex job. However the functional resume isn’t the answer to the huge gap in your resume. In fact most recruiters prefer the chronological resume over functional resumes. Continue reading Dealing with Gaps in your work history…

Cover Letter Are Necessary

Cover letters are simply a letter of introduction. In these letters you are explaining who you are and why you are writing to the resume reader. It is a matter of courtesy that you introduce yourself when you are requesting something of them, in this case an interview.

What Instances Require a Cover Letter

If you are not shaking hands with the hiring decision maker and introducing yourself, then you need a cover letter to introduce you. If you are shaking hands with the hiring manager, you are introducing yourself verbally and requesting an interview. In this case, hand them your resume without a cover letter.

On the other hand, if you are sending a resume by mail, if you give your resume to a friend to hand in, or if you leave your resume with the hiring manager’s secretary then you are not shaking the hiring manager’s hand and you need to have a cover letter enclosed with your resume.

Cover Letters Should Be Brief and Simple

Hiring managers only glance at cover letters. They have many resumes to read out of which they will select a few candidates for interviews. I recommend letters be 3 or 4 paragraphs.

Many people  just regurgitate their resume. This is a waste the writer’s and reader’s time.

Cover Letter Content

Address these 4 topics in a succinct manner.

1) For what position are you applying?
2) How did you learn of the position or company?
3) Why are you perfect for the position?
4) Who will contact who?

10 Strategies to Getting that Promotion You Want

#1 From the fat into the fire. Do you even know what you are getting yourself into? Do you just want that promotion just for the heck of it? Before you even think about going for that promotion, research on the position and the skills needed for it. You may want that VP position but you could be woefully inadequate for it. Getting a promotion means more responsibility and it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get any added perks. If you feel that you are indeed qualified for the position and you are up to the challenges of added responsibilities then start your campaign.

#2 Be the Best that you can be. If you want that promotion then you have to prove to others that you actually do deserve that title. Perform your job to the best of your abilities and then some. If you make yourself invaluable to the smooth performance of your division then you increase your chances of your boss rewarding you with that promotion. And at the risk of being too much of a brown noser ask if you can do more tasks within the office. You’ll get your boss’ attention and additional experience with new challenges.

#3 Be positive. A defeatist attitude will get you nowhere in this campaign. Try not to think of being passed over for a more accomplished colleague. If you think your job is a mere stepping to better opportunities then this attitude won’t get you a promotion. On the other hand if you do think this way why would you even bother with a promotion. A promotion is for people who see their work as a position rather than just another job.

#4 Friends are important. The power of friendship is truly an important resource for anyone. You may not want to admit it but your promotion rests on knowing the right people. Broaden your knowledge of the different departments and the people who are in charge of them. Remember that getting the respect of your peers will help your boss see that you are a capable leader and much loved by those under you.

#5 Fight fair. Getting a promotion often means that you have to fight for it. There is no way to avoid civilized warfare against people you worked with. You all want the same position but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to back stab your co-workers to come out on top. You can be aggressive in your campaign but try not to be Attila the Hun. You may not win points for being everybody’s best friend but you can at least be well-respected.

#6 Review your past accomplishments. It’s not what your company has done for you but what you have done for the company that counts. When the time comes for your boss to deliberate on the person for the job, be sure that he or she knows the great deeds you have done. Develop your personal career portfolio to present to your boss. Make sure you add letters of commendation, samples of exceptional work and other certificates of achievement. Of course you should actually have done these things. Lying about past accomplishments can have dire consequences.

#7 Catch your boss in a good mood. Sometimes it’s not what you’ve done but when you did it that matters. It’s important to make sure that your boss is not stressed or too busy when you pitch yourself. You should try to catch him or her in a relaxed, social situation. Invite him or her for coffee and subtly pitch your willingness to accept a promotion.

#8 Expand your knowledge. Keep ahead of the competition by learning important skills. Join any seminars or classes that can add to your skill level and knowledge about your job. There are numerous courses and books available in your library or the internet for self-study. Or if your company offers to pay for classes take advantage of it.

#9 Express yourself. The promotion won’t fall in your lap like manna from heaven. You have to sell yourself, your skills, and your accomplishments to your boss. Often people are passed over because of the simple fact that their boss didn’t know they wanted the promotion. Come the job appraisal, be sure to say that you want a more challenging role in the company. State that your skills are underused in your current position. Highlight all your selling points and how you can do a smashing job with the position you are angling for.

#10 Where there’s a will. Your boss may reject your promotion but this is no reason to feel dejected. There may not be a budget for the position or you haven’t been in the company that long. For whatever reason think of this failure as an opportunity to work harder. Your efforts were not in vain and your superiors will remember them.

Bagging the Career of a Lifetime

To get the career you’ve been dreaming of— know your yourself, know your options, and finally make a good decision.

The above mentioned principles are the major components in finding the right track. People with no proper guidance actually realize only years after the career they have rigorously put efforts to is not the career they always wanted. And to find out about it later in life is discouraging since one would require to put greater effort for they are starting anew.

Career maybe defined as the general progression of your working or professional life wherein you are employed in a particular occupation for which, you are trained for. Sometimes people refer to the concept generally as a calling or vocation. Whatever calling or vocation you would like to pursue, it is intelligent for an individual to learn to bullet down what truly defines you once you place your finger to it.

For some people it takes little time for them to figure out their career. Amazingly, some find it difficult, thus careful self-exploration is essential to discover the career that best suits and coincides with their temperament, long term goals, and lifestyle expectations.

Getting There

What are the necessary steps to make sure you bag the career you longed for?

Planning your career provides you the assistance in determining your interests and strengths , both short and long term goals, the education and training needed, occupations that’ll match your interests and skills, corporate culture and values that will suit you, and lastly, your future lifestyle.

Knowing yourself is the first key, otherwise not knowing will steer your boat away from the career you were meant to achieve. You will undergo searching until when the time is up, you end up disappointed and frustrated. One’s pursuit for a successful career lies on one’s knowledge of oneself. Pastiche it may seem, but knowledge is power. Having knowledge about yourself will give you the advantage of choosing activities that would help you achieve your goals through the career path you have chosen. The power of knowing and the ability to be able to make use of this knowledge properly provides a leverage for yourself to take the significant steps to coming into peace with your career.

In establishing your goals for yourself, think of it as a three-step process. These steps should include self-reflection, self-assessment, and career orientation.

Goal Oriented

It appears trivial, but after the the gruesome work of finding about yourself, the next tread is to set those goals. Career goals help you centered on what you want to do for a living. The more specific it is, the more it will do good for you. A career goal can be as specific as a job you want to do.

Career goals serve as a guideline so as you can keep track and discover other career possibilities you would have thought impossible. More so, it becomes your own dictionary to assist you in defining what you want in life rather than drifting from one job to the other.

Once all your goals are set, you are ready for a career plan.

Opening the Doors

When you have finally assessed yourself, it is the ripe moment to choose your options. Sometimes, we become overwhelmed with the staggering number of options. However, you should never be blinded by these options otherwise you end up indecisive.

To get somewhere, learn to focus only on options that matter. To matter, means having the ability to distinguish which alternatives will help you in your pursuit of an established career. With the overflowing information disseminated, you can be fooled by doors that are seemingly attractive but would never encompass the goals you have set.

Be wary of deceitful options. If in case such circumstances arise, the solution is to review and evaluate what you have learned about yourself and the universe will work its magic. Narrowing your options after diligent research provides you a sneak peek of what might lies ahead of you.

Upgrading Your Resume

After all the applications you have submitted and you still could not land a job, maybe the problem lies on the document that you are handing to them.  You can put some minor adjustments on your resume, and we are here to help you with that.

Revamp the format – The best thing that resume templates have probably done is that they make your resume similar with the rest of them, making the recruiter difficult to differentiate between candidates.  When searching for a job, the last thing you need is to be an ordinary, run-of-the-mill applicant.

Give your resume a distinctive resume format that will not only make you stand out from the competition, but make you look more qualified and organized.  In truth, how your resume looks is as important as how it reads.

Stick to what is relevant – Hiring managers do not put much weight on outdated accomplishments.  You should focus your resume on your last 5 to 10 years of employment.  In addition, there is no need to flesh out jobs that are not relevant.  Eliminate old and irrelevant jobs, providing you with the opportunity to focus on your career objective, making the resume easier to read and less confusing.

Be original – Though you can use resume books, websites, and even your friend’s resume as a guide, copying information is not a smart move.  Chances are you won’t be the only one replicating the work of others and once again, you won’t stand out from the crowd.

Improving Your Resume

People submit resumes every time. The thing is, the rate at which people send out their resumes does not equal the rate at which companies hire them. There are those resumes which attract attention from the get go and there are those which never see the light of another day. Here are some tips that will help you make your resume into a well-crafted record of your relevant work experiences and various accomplishments.

Utilize Headings or Captions Which Correspond To The Jobs You Want
It is not uncommon for employers to sift through hundreds of resumes a month. At this rate, your prospective employer might not have enough time to look and read through your entire resume. You must be able to catch the attention of potential employers within 5 seconds or your can kiss your application goodbye. One of the most creative and efficient ways to do this is through the utilization of different relevant captions that essentially relate to and match the jobs that you desire. The example below shows the improvement that was done to the previous headings.

Before:

• Accounting

• Administrative

• Computer skills

After:

• Management of Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable

• Computerized Accounting Software

• Departmental Administration/Recordkeeping

These improvements specifies what the person can actually contribute to the company based on his experiences. The skill headings that were revised consisted of the true nature of the applicant’s job experience. This may, in fact, present the applicant with a greater chance of being seen and being hired.

Incorporate Designs That Catches Attention
Employers who browse resumes often make split-second decisions based on what they initially read from your resume. The second that they see something that is irrelevant to the job position that you are applying for, they will automatically assume that you are not qualified for the job. Therefore, you should be able to grab the attention of your employers but letting your job descriptions be relevant to the position that you are applying for. You must remember that most headhunters or employers simply do not have the time to read through your whole resume. It would be prudent of you to immediately have them find what they are looking for in the beginning of each of your resumes.