Finding a job is hard.  Now try and find a job you love…that’s even harder. 

But, it is possible.

Most people don’t treat job searching like a real job. A lot of the time that could be spent on finding a job you love is squandered. You can actually find a job much, much faster if you eliminated time wasting activities from your day to day schedule.

These are three of the most important ones to tackle.

Checking Email and Facebook

Checking your email is important when you’re searching for jobs, because potential employers may contact you by email.

However, checking your email more than two or three times a day is just counter productive. If you’re refreshing your email constantly, perhaps once every hour, you’re just wasting time and energy.

The same is even truer with Facebook. Unless you’re reaching out to your social contacts for job leads with Facebook, you shouldn’t check it any more than once a day for a few minutes.

It’s very tempting to burn time on the internet when you’re job hunting. It can help alleviate stress and it feels like you’re doing something. In reality however, it’s wasted time that could be spent on job searching.

Constantly Checking the Job Boards

Sites like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and Craigslist get new posts every day. It definitely makes sense to check these sites daily.

However, it doesn’t make any sense to check them hourly. Sitting in front of your computer and refreshing these sites constantly is not the most productive use of your time.

Being the first resume to reply to an ad doesn’t mean you’re any more likely to get the job. Most prospective employer won’t be sitting in front of their computers reading every resume as it comes in.

Instead, most employers will wait a day or two then go through every resume that was sent in. So as long as you get your resume in within the first 24 hours, you’ll be fine.

Check the job boards no more than twice a day.

Doing Nothing

Finally, the biggest, worst and easiest to fall for time waster is doing nothing.

Being unemployed shouldn’t be a ticket to laziness. At least not if you want to find a job.

There are so many things you could be doing that’ll increase your chances of finding a job you love. These range from fixing your resume to reaching out to your network to applying to jobs by email to even just by walking in the door of companies you want to work for.

What Next

Treat your job search as a full time job.

Write out task lists and perform them systematically.

These three time wasting activities can literally suck up as much as 80% of your time. If you eliminate them from your daily schedule, your chances of getting a job will increase exponentially.

Find a Job You Love Quicker by NOT Doing These 3 Things is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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Salary negotiation can be one of the trickiest aspects of interviewing for a job.

If you do it properly, your salary negotiation can be as much as 25% more than if you negotiate salary poorly. If you’re in the job for years or decades, that 25% can really add up.

On the other hand, bringing up pay at the wrong time or in the wrong way may actually reduce your chances of getting the job in the first place.

When should you bring up pay in an interview?

And how do you go about salary negotiation once the topic is on the table?

The Timing: Wait for Them to Love You

If you were considering buying a house, would you talk about price before you’ve decided you’re interested? Probably not.

You’ll want to see as many houses as you can first, until you find one you fall in love with. Then you negotiate for the best deal you can on that house. You’ll likely be willing to pay quite a bit more for the home you fell in love with than a house that you were just kicking the tires on.

The same is true when an employer is thinking about hiring you. They may ask questions like “What kind of salary are you looking for?” before they’re actually serious.

But the best time for you, the interviewee, to really answer these questions is once the employer has already decided they want you on their team.

Once they’ve decided that, you have much more leverage. You’ll be able to negotiate a much better deal.

In other words, try not to address pay at all until everything else has been discussed and it seems like there’s a good fit.

Tips for Negotiating the Best Salary

Before you even walk into the room, do your research.

What does this company pay other people on their staff?

For large companies, you may be able to find out by doing some in-depth searching online.

For smaller companies, you’ll likely have to try to find out by talking to people. If you don’t know anyone in the company, you’ll have to gauge by getting a sense of the overall industry.

For example, if you’re interviewing for a small solar company and can’t find out how much they pay, instead try to find out the average salary for other people in your position in the solar industry.

Know what value you bring to the company.

Know what problems you’re solving for them that other people can’t solve. This will give you a good idea of what you’re worth to the company.

Be willing to say no.

Have several options so you can create the impression that you can walk away if they don’t present you with a great offer.

Negotiating salary is both an art and a science. Be prepared when you walk into the interview and only talk about salary in concrete terms once they’ve already decided they want to work with you.

What do you think? What other “salary negotiation” strategies would you include? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Savvy Salary Negotiation Tips is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

There’s no tool more powerful than LinkedIn when searching for a job.

With over thirty five million members and a network that includes everyone from ground level employees to Fortune 100 CEOs, you’re really missing out if you’re not taking full advantage of the power of LinkedIn.

If you’re looking for a job, here are the most important things you need to know about LinkedIn.

How Recommendations Work

Recommendations are professional “testimonials” for you written by other people who have a professional relationship with you.

These recommendations can be from past employers, past managers or even from people you’ve managed in the past. You can also get recommendations from big clients you worked with.

The goal of recommendations is to give prospective employers more of a sense of who you are and to build credibility.

Both the quality of your recommendations and the quantity matter. Someone with 10 recommendations looks a lot more solid than someone with just one or two.

A good recommendation should be one that’s very specific about the qualities that they liked about you when they worked with you, these qualities also support your brand.

LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles”

LinkedIn has many company finding capabilities that can lead you to job opportunities you may never have thought of yourself.

For example, let’s say you’re a programmer in the San Francisco area.

By going to the “Company Profiles” area of LinkedIn, you can find out the job history of everyone who works at a certain company.

Using this feature, you can compile a giant list of all the companies in your area that hire people like you.

You can also use the “Company Profiles” feature to see where people go after they leave that company. This can be very useful for finding companies that are hiring right now.

In other words, if you notice that a lot of people are leaving firms in your area to join a certain firm and it all happened in the last 3 months, that might be a very good company to contact and see if they have openings.

Getting the Foot In the Door

LinkedIn will tell you exactly how “close” you are to other people on LinkedIn. It does these through degrees of separations.

You can find out if anyone in your network works in companies that you might want to work for. It can also tell you if you know anyone who knows anyone in companies you’d like to work for.

Using the degrees of separation feature, you can easily find people who can help get you through the job hiring process.

These are some of the most important things every job seeker needs to know about using LinkedIn for job search. LinkedIn is one of the most powerful and essential tools for finding a job in today’s job market.

If you’re on Linkedin, let’s connect.

If you’re not and would like a little help setting up your profile contact, send me (Theresa) an email – I’ll help set you up.

LinkedIn Job Search Benefits: 3 Important Tips Know is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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One of the most effective strategies any job seeker has at their arsenal to search for a job online.

Employers are increasingly turning to the internet to find potential candidates. It’s both more effective and cheaper than more traditional means of finding job candidates.

How do you search for a job online?

Follow these tips.

Clean Up Your Digital Identities

Tech savvy employers are going to start by Googling you and looking you up on Facebook and Twitter. Before you do anything else, you need to make sure that whatever prospective employers look, they will find positive things.

Google yourself and see what comes up. If old posts or out of date information comes up, see if you can take it down or update it.

If there are pieces of information or pages that you don’t have access to, the best you can really do is create your own page and try to get it above the irrelevant pages.

Make sure you own your name’s domain – E.g. YourName.com.

Remove any unprofessional photos you have on your Facebook.

Make sure you change your profile photo to something presentable.

Start a Blog On Your Industry

One of the most powerful ways to make an impression on a prospective employer is to start an influential blog in your industry.

For example, if you’re looking for work in the search engine optimization industry, start a blog on search engine optimization.

Discuss the latest techniques and changes in the industry. Share your personal opinions.

Prospective employers who’re researching you will be able to see that you have initiative, you’re intelligent and you’re competent based on your blog.

Searching for Jobs Online

There are many places you can search for a job online.

First of all there’s Craigslist, a free classifieds board. Because it’s free, there’s a very high volume of postings. Unfortunately, because it’s free, the quality of jobs is often lower than paid sites.

Other job posting sites like Monster.com or Career Builder are also great for finding job. Keep in mind that anytime you try to find a job with a job board website you’ll be up against a fair amount of competition.

Finally, you can find jobs using social networking sites like Twitter,  Facebook and especially LinkedIn.

These social networking sites will allow you to do two things.

First of all, let everyone in your network know that you’re on the job market.

Second, you can also use it to find people in companies that you might want to work in.

These are just a few of the ways you can search for a job online. Time spent exploring online tools for job hunting is time well spent.

What  strategies have worked for your job search?

How to Search for a Job Online is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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Gaps in employment are easier to fill than you might think.

One of the biggest troubles about extended unemployment is that being the fact that you were unemployed can make it more difficult to get employed in the future.

It’s not that employers are discriminating; it’s just that in many professions, being unemployed also means your skills are rusting.

If you’re an engineer for example, if you haven’t fixed a piece of machinery for a year, chances are you’re going to need some re-training when you start up on the job again.

If an employer is presented with a choice of 20 candidates and one candidate has holes in their resume that can’t be explained, chances are that candidate isn’t going to get picked.

But if you have gaps in employment, don’t panic!

There are many ways you can patch gaps in employment and actually have them come across as a positive thing, making you seem more employable!

The main thing employers don’t want to see is someone who spent 6 months or more doing nothing related to their profession.

Make it Seem Like You Developed Skills

If you’re having trouble finding a job, why not spend an hour or two a day taking some sort of class?

Even if you just took one or two classes over a six month period, you can put the course in your resume. You can claim you took a personal break, but also used the opportunity to develop new professional skills.

This shows initiative and also gives the impression that your skills have improved rather than deteriorated.

Volunteer for Projects in Your Field

Volunteer to help with projects that are in your area of expertise.

If you’re a graphic designer, offer to do some pro-bono work for various non-profit organizations.

If you’re an engineer, why not help solar companies install solar panels for free?

If you’re a lawyer, why not take on a few pro-bono cases while you’re looking for your next employer?

By volunteering your time to worthwhile causes, you make your employment gap seem like it was spent doing something meaningful, while also keeping your skills sharp.

Get Creative

There are many ways you can make it seem like your skills stayed sharp or improved during your time off.

You can take on freelance projects. You can even start a small business.

The main thing employers don’t want to see is someone who spent 6 months or more doing nothing related to their profession.

Realistically, that’s not very good from a skill perspective either. Even if you lied on your job application and filled gaps in employment by extending your jobs, chances are your employer will be able to spot the rustiness in your skills.

Don’t try to fake it.

Instead, fill your gaps in employment by actually doing something productive. Just one or two projects or one or two classes are all you need to fill several months of gaps.

How to Fill Gaps in Employment is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

Great job interviewing skills include being able to highlight your experience and strengths.  However, accomplishing this without sounding like you’re boasting can be a bit of a challenge.

Your goal in an interview should be to convince the interviewer that you’re competent and that you’re the right person for the job. To do that, you can’t be afraid of showing off your strengths. However, being too boastful is also a big turnoff for employers.

So, how do you walk this delicate balance?

Stick With the Facts

If you increased your last company’s website traffic by 77%, stick to that fact. Talk about how you did it in a systematic way.

Leave out your personal opinions. Don’t tell them how nobody else could have done it or how your co-workers thought you were a hero.

If what you’ve done in the past is impressive, the facts will speak for themselves.

In fact, a person who achieves impressive results while being slightly self-deprecating is often more impressive than someone who’s full of themselves.

Be Assertive on Important Points, Back Off on the Rest

If your job is to increase website traffic, don’t be afraid to let your interviewers know that you can’t program and can’t build websites.

Always be assertive on the most important points in your job description. For example, if your job is to improve manufacturing efficiency, that’s the one area where you simply can’t afford to be overly modest.

However, in any other area, don’t be afraid to back down and be a little more modest.

Nobody can be good at everything. Anyone who tries to sound like they’re great at everything is more likely to raise disbelief than garner respect.

Be Detailed in Your Weaknesses

One question that’s often asked in job interviews is,

“What do you think are your 3 greatest strengths and your 3 greatest weaknesses?”

Many interviewees try to answer this question in a way that doesn’t really shed any light on their real weaknesses.

However, a much better approach to this question is to be very honest with your weaknesses. This allows you to in turn be very honest with your strengths.

If your job is to improve mechanical efficiency for example, you can “brag” a lot more about your strengths and your results if you’re not afraid that you have trouble managing larger teams of people.

Your strengths just seem more believable when offset by weaknesses. Again however, your weaknesses should be in areas that are not in the core job description of the job you’re applying for. Don’t say you can’t manage people if you’re interviewing for a project management position.

If you follow these tips on job interviewing skills, you’ll be able to share your strengths and experiences much more powerfully without sounding overly boastful.

Job Interviewing Skills: How to Highlight Your Experience is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“It can be overwhelming to think about how much work it actually entails to find a job in today’s web 2.0 world.

If you are very serious about it, you have likely educated yourself in all the various facets of a job search and become well-equipped to go out and tackle the task. But, so have many others.

Once a company narrows down the candidate pool to a group of people they want to meet, and you are one of them, it’s time to start thinking about your next steps. Only one person can be chosen in the end. When all things are equal, what makes you stand out?”

Continue reading…

Top 5 Best Practices to Stand Out in a Job Interview is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“You’ve polished your resume to no end, especially after finding a job posting that precisely fits your skills.

But did your cover letter merit the same attention?

Many hiring managers use your cover letter to gauge your interest in the company, as well as your aptitude for the job.

Therefore, when you resort to “Dear Sir, I’m interested in your open job, here’s my resume,” you’re missing out on a critical chance to persuade employers to take you seriously.

Here are five of the most crucial mistakes made in cover letters…”

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Don’t Make Theses 5 Cover Letter Mistakes? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“It’s a typical story for many job seekers. You apply for a bunch of jobs. You get some interviews, but can’t understand why you aren’t hearing back from so many of these companies. Whether it’s to actually get a job interview or to be called back for a second interview, oftentimes, you may come to the conclusion that you just aren’t as qualified as many of the others.

Other times you know you are qualified, so what gives? While there are many factors that come into play here, it is a fact that some less qualified candidates are chosen over more qualified candidates simply because they have stronger soft skills than their more qualified counterparts.”

Continue reading…

6 Soft Skills Employers Desire is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“When preparing your resume, you might find yourself coming face to face with some issues from your past.

Perhaps you will then find yourself trying to figure out how to fix those issues to make your resume look a bit cleaner and more professional. It’s just a resume to help you get a job interview. It’s not a legal document of any sort, right?

Maybe you are eight credits short of graduating from college but you dropped out for some reason. What are eight little credits? It probably would just look better if you go ahead and say you have a degree.

Even better, what if you have an associates degree but the job requires a bachelors degree? A degree is a degree, it doesn’t really matter which kind of a degree, does it?”

Continue reading…

Lying on Your Job Application – What Can Happen? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“You sent out the resume – you’re a perfect fit – and yet no one calls. Sound familiar?

In fact, a majority of candidates today do not receive a response on a submitted resume.

So the big question is, “When is it appropriate to follow-up with an employer on my submission and how do I do it?”

There is no answer that will fit every scenario, but there are some good rules you should follow.”

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3 Rules to Follow-up on Your Resume is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“You’ve probably heard it a million times: Personal branding is important to the success of a job search. Why is it so important? Because as a unique job seeker, it helps define you as an individual and makes you stand out as a prime candidate.

There are aspects of your background that make you incredibly unique and highly qualified—and your job is to highlight those aspects so that hiring managers don’t have to guess whether you’re perfect for the job.

To help you get started, here are five personal branding techniques to try when working on your resume.”

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Brand Your Resume With These 5 Techniques is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“WARNING: If you’ve been affected by a layoff, or you get laid-off in near future, you should see if your employer will provide you with outplacement services to speed up your job search.

Why? The average length of time it takes to find a job right now is 39 weeks.

Unemployment benefits (depending where you are) run for 26 weeks. Do the math.

You need help as a way to shorten that job search!”

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Why to Request Outplacement If You’re Laid-Off is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“LinkedIn is the premier business networking site for job-seekers at all levels and all ages.

There are some things newbies need to know about LinkedIn, though, before it will be valuable as a job search tool.

In fact, whatever you’re using LinkedIn for, you should follow these 10 tips.”

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10 Secrets to Successfully Grow Your LinkedIn Network is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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Guest post by Holly Miller

Are There Legitimate Work At Home Options?

People have long been attracted to the idea of legitimate work at home opportunities. Unfortunately however, many are discouraged from the endeavor by the flood of “get rich quick” scams, or they believe the only options are selling health goods or cleaning products.

Fortunately, those are far from the truth about opportunities based in a home environment. Depending on your skills, interest and drive, it’s entirely possible to work from home and still pay your bills.

Freelance Writing

If you have the ability to follow instructions and string words together coherently, you might investigate content brokerage sites with which you can contract for freelance writing. Different sites have different payment methods and scales, so look carefully. Contracting with multiple sites helps ensure reasonable work availability, therefore a perfect work at home opportunity.

Reimbursement can be by piece, by word, by project or by revenue-sharing. The last method depends on your ability to write about popular topics and often generating your own traffic. Ads are placed on your posted articles, and if a visitor clicks on the paid advertising, you earn a share of the advertising revenue. This method of payment does not often pay well, but the volume of pieces you produce can increase your profile and expertise in any given field.

Blogging is included in this section, for there are many sites that need competent bloggers. The freelancer would write to the site’s specifications on topic, length and keyword use, and most offer reimbursement either by word or by piece. You are able to blog for more than one web site owner and gain multiple streams of income.

Transcription Services

A high-growth legitimate work at home option, transcription services can be for medical personnel, for businesses or college students. If you accept a project from students, ensure you only transcribe, and the student isn’t requiring research and development of the piece.

Transcription specialists often need specialized equipment, most of which is needed for training courses. There is more to transcription than just the ability to type. You will need that training and certification if you don’t already have it.

Medical Coding and Medical Billing

Medical personnel and health care facilities don’t run on cash transactions. The bulk of their finances is gained from insurance companies, and that means each service rendered must be properly coded then billed.

Transforming written documentation of services and medical conditions into alpha-numeric codes is called medical coding. Listing those service and diagnosis codes properly on the appropriate forms and reviewing the accounts until fully paid is called medical billing.

Both of these occupations lend themselves well to work at home or telecommuting. A computer, a telephone line and knowledge in these fields is all it takes: You don’t have to sit in an office to fill either of these job descriptions.

Telephone Call Centers

Although most telecommute employers require on-site training, many call center positions are filled by work-at-home employees. A quiet environment, a land line and a compatible computer fill most employers’ basic requirements.

You may be required to read from a script for callers, act as a telephonic troubleshooter who talks users through action steps or you might simply take sales orders or take messages.

Summary

There are more legitimate work at home opportunities than ever, whether you start your own business, consider one of the above few samples, find other telecommunications positions or develop your own idea. Don’t limit yourself to in-office positions in the Electronic and Information Ages.

This post was contributed by Holly Miller, a writer for Coupon Croc. Trying to organize your home office? Shop online with John Lewis promos and save on everything from electronics to furniture to streamline your at-home work space.

5 Legitimate Work-At-Home Job Possibilities is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“If you’re an executive planning your next career move, it might surprise you to learn you’ll be judged by more than just your resume during your job search.

In other words, a full resume is NOT necessarily the best fit for every job search contact.

Surprised? You’ll find recruiters, company owners, Boards of Directors, and other hiring decision-makers often look at your experience through a series of interviews and investigations—which means your executive resume is just one part of the process.

Here are 4 must-have documents for an executive portfolio designed to capture attention at all the right levels…”

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What You Need for Executive Job Hunting Success is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“Today’s career experts agree most people experience a change of career 3 to 7 times throughout their working life. This means a complete transformation—new job, new industry, new employer. It’s a big deal. These are the kinds of changes that cause massive amounts of stress, anxiety and worry. Sure, they can be exciting at the same time. But overall, a change of career is nothing to sneeze at. It takes more planning and preparation than most people realize.

So, if you’re considering a career change, these tips will help you understand what to expect on the long road ahead.”

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How to Plan a Career Change is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“Many people writing a resume for their first job make these mistakes:

• They try too hard to be clever and stand out by using fancy fonts, colors, clip art or even video resumes.

• They think volunteer work, summer jobs and school honors or adult-ed courses do not count.

• They are not clear about their career goals; they apply for everything and expect their resume to get them “any job.”

• They do not research what employers want.

Your resume helps you land your first job by presenting you at your best…”

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How to Write a Resume that Helps You Get Your First Job is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“If you are not getting enough interviews or job offers then it is time to analyze your job search strategy. Here is a quick way to drill down to the core issues that will need adjusting.

Situation: I am not getting enough calls for interviews.

If the phone is not ringing then either your resume is not good or you are not getting it into the right hands.

Look at your resume and scan it for 20 seconds, the same way an employer would. If you don’t say, “I would hire this person,” then it probably needs work.”

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How’s Your Job Search Going? How About a Boost? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“We often work with people who are still employed but who have seen the writing on the wall for the future of their companies. They seek us out to proactively start their job search process before they find themselves in a desperate situation. Many who are currently employed are nervous about sending any signals that they are seeking new opportunities. So what can you do to keep your job search confidential while using social media?”

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How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“The smart job hunter will recognize Twitter’s functionality has become a reality not only for media celebrities, but for both main stream and start-up businesses.

Twitter is being used for corporate branding, marketing, and scouting for plugged-in “high value” talent to fill jobs.

Corporations, HR practices, and recruiters all value access to Twitter’s 75 million users. CEO’s, HR, hiring managers, career experts and recruiters are all actively using tweeting as a part of their messaging and staffing strategies.

It only makes sense job seekers hunt in the same forest as their prey!”

Continue reading…

6 Ways to Use Twitter to Find Your Next Job is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“Many job-seekers spend time, worry and money on their resume, trying very hard to make them perfect. They agonize over each line and each word.

What makes it worse is that everyone thinks they are a resume expert. Headhunters say one thing. HR professionals say something else. Your brother-in-law thinks he has the perfect resume style. There are thousands of templates on the Internet, in bookstores, and even on MS Word. How can you know which one is right?”

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Is Your Resume is Mostly Useless? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 3 Rules to Follow-up on Your Resume
2. Brand Your Resume With These 5 Techniques

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“By now you’ve learned the traditional ways of job searching don’t work anymore. A few years ago you could put your resume up on Monster and CareerBuilder and wait for the phone to ring. Those days are gone. So here are five things you can easily do that will quickly improve your job search results.”

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5 Steps to Instantly Improve Your Job Search Results is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search
2. Common Job Search Mistakes
3. How’s Your Job Search Going? How About a Boost?

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“Sometimes, fixing the little things can offer the most benefit. Anyone writing a letter to a hiring rep should follow some golden rules before hitting start on the fax machine, licking that envelope shut, or hitting “Send” on that e-mail. Treat your letter like any piece of business correspondence. It should have a professional appearance, a professional tone, and possess accurate grammar and punctuation. Remember, you’re out to impress, not turn a job away. Your correspondence should command attention, and if it doesn’t, you’re virtually sabotaging the opportunities that took so long to uncover.”

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4 Things to Avoid When Writing a Cover Letter is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter
2. How to Get a Job : How to Build a Cover Letter
3. Does Your Cover Letter Stand Out?

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“With all the layoffs that have taken place over the last couple of years, it’s no wonder many of those who are still employed often feel stretched to the maximum of their productivity. It can be very demanding looking for another job when your current one is continually stressing you out. After all, when you get home from a long and frustrating day, the last thing you want to do is give any more thought to the world of work.

Unfortunately, most new jobs don’t just fall into your lap—you have to go out and get them.”

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3 Job Search Facts You Need to Know is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. How to Search for a Job Online
2. 4 Job Search De-Stressing Tips
3. Are You Being Smart with Your Job Search?

via careerealism.com

“Do you need a cover letter for your resume? The answer is, “Yes!” Recruiters and hiring managers read cover letters and cover e-mails for three main reasons”

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Is Your Cover Letter Read? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 5 Key Parts Of A Cover Letter
2. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter
3. Does Your Cover Letter Stand Out?

via careerealism.com

“It’s time to dump the old line: “Please accept this application in response to…” If you’re still starting your cover letters with this overused one-liner, then I implore you to stop what you’re doing, delete the line, and spend a few minutes reading this article to discover seven new examples of how you can catch the hiring manager’s attention with an attention-grabbing opening line.

Entice them with the job title and some of your standout accomplishments.”

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7 New Ways to Start Your Cover Letter is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Don’t Make Theses 5 Cover Letter Mistakes?
2. 5 Key Parts Of A Cover Letter
3. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter

via careerealism.com

“You’ve read the job description, but the interview is the time to read between the lines. Find out as much as you can about the company you may work for before you take the job. It could save you time and frustration down the line.

We all know to have questions prepared when we head into an interview. It makes us look interested and on the ball. But the list of questions you ask a potential employer should be as much about you interviewing them, as them interviewing you.

Before you sign on the dotted line, be sure you know what you’re getting in to.”

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How to Successfully Interview a Potential Employer is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Interview Tips: Why should we hire you? – the GOOD answer
2. Interview Tips: Tell me about yourself. A GOOD answer / example.
3. Phone Interview: 10 Tips for Impressing

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“It seems like everyone writes about careers and the job market today. As a job seeker, the amount of online advice available can be overwhelming. Which advice is the “right” advice? Who should you listen to? How will you distinguish bad advice from good advice?”

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Is The Career Advice You’re Getting “Good Advice”? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Career Change Advice: Jump Start Your Career in 2011
2. Career Change Advice: How to Best Convey Your Accomplishments
3. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career

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“Today’s career experts agree most people experience a change of career 3 to 7 times throughout their working life. This means a complete transformation—new job, new industry, new employer. It’s a big deal. These are the kinds of changes that cause massive amounts of stress, anxiety and worry. Sure, they can be exciting at the same time. But overall, a change of career is nothing to sneeze at. It takes more planning and preparation than most people realize.

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How to Successfully Plan a Career Change is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. How to Plan a Career Change
2. 5 Key Rules to Successfully Change Your Career
3. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career

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“In today’s job market, it’s very easy to become frustrated by the lack of response to your resume or application submissions. The fact is there is about a 6:1 ratio of job applicants for each available position. What does this mean? It means you have to stand out, head and shoulders, above the rest of the applicants. It means you have to have the perfect resume and cover letter, tailored for each position to which you apply, that easily shows that you have the background (or potential) for the position. Let’s assume you have all of that, and you’re still not getting calls.”

There may be some reasons why >> Continue reading

Why You’re Not Getting Hired is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

via careerealism.com

“The simple truth is: hunting for a job can be tiring, demoralizing, and frustrating. I often encounter people who have internalized their inability to find work as a sign of personal failure. Confidence and self-image suffer. As that happens, it becomes increasingly difficult to present the optimistic, energetic “can do” persona that employers seek.

We all hear the longer you are out of work, the harder it is to get work. One of the reasons for this is employers are looking for you, Mr. / Ms. Jobhunter not to be jaded, tired, and “down.” And, they fear that the longer you are out of work, the more likely it is you won’t have the vim and vigor they seek.”

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8 Steps Energize Your Job Hunt is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 5 Steps to Instantly Improve Your Job Search Results

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“As a job applicant, there are benefits and disadvantages to a phone interview. Some people are well-spoken and are great on the phone, but in person, their nervousness gets to them. Some are more comfortable speaking in-person and lack personality on the phone. Under both situations, it can be a challenge when you don’t have feedback that may typically appear through face-to-face contact.

Regardless of the situation, you need to put your best voice forward to leave the employer with a good impression. This may be the only shot you have at getting a step closer to securing a job offer with them. Remember that the employer may change their mind about inviting you in for an interview if you fall short of their expectations or leave a negative impression on the phone.”

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Phone Interviews: Put the Best Voice Forward is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Phone Interview: 10 Tips for Impressing
2. Professional Phone Etiquette

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“Understanding the transferrable skill sets you have in your career arsenal are pivotal to whether you can make an effective leap between entirely different fields. Many people have interest in other areas but completely lack the building blocks to make a transition to an entirely different sector.

What happens then is like watching a train wreck in slow motion: the person wants a job in the new field so badly that they end up convincing themselves that their qualifications match, when in fact, they do not.

I call this career blindness. They simply can’t see that they aren’t even remotely qualified.

The end result is that the job seeker ends up beating their head against a brick wall and doesn’t understand that they haven’t matched their background in terms of ‘apples to apples’ to the job opening.

And the employer ends up not even considering the application because of this very mismatch.

The clarity in making a strong case for an employer to hire you comes from understanding the top 5 things you’ll need to know before changing industries.”

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6 Tips You Need to Know Before Changing Industries is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“Job seekers, you have to go the extra mile to show employers you are the right fit. A few years ago, employers could handle the risk of hiring the wrong fit, but today it is very different. The cost to let an employee go and hire another is very high. Employers want to pick the right fit the first time around.”

Here are 5 tips to help you stand out >> Continue reading

Are You Being Smart with Your Job Search? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. How to Search for a Job Online
2. 3 Job Search Facts You Need to Know
3. How’s Your Job Search Going? How About a Boost?

via careerealism.com

“Entrepreneurship may sound like a dream to some, especially if you’ve been on the job hunt for several months with no luck landing a new job. But it’s important to first determine if entrepreneurship is the right direction for you before attempting to launch a new business venture in this economy.

Are you on the fence? Ask yourself the following questions to gauge whether you should consider being an entrepreneur or stick with your current career”

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Are You Ready For Entrepreneurship? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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“Consider the first step to entering an interview – the handshake. While it may take less than 10 seconds to complete a handshake, in that time, the interviewer has already developed an impression of your character based on eye contact and the firmness of your shake. A weak handshake and lack of eye contact can leave the impression you are timid and insecure. A sincere and firm handshake with eye contact expresses professionalism and confidence. An overpowering handshake with a fixed gaze may come across as overconfident and arrogant. So, be cautious with your next handshake and start the interview off with a positive impression.”

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Your Interview Body Language Shows From Head to Toe is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Phone Interview: 10 Tips for Impressing
2. Business Etiquette Tips: What is the Proper Handshake Etiquette When Seated?
3. Top 5 Best Practices to Stand Out in a Job Interview

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“Your resume is a company’s first look at what skills and accomplishments you might bring to the job. Don’t make it their last look!”

Click here to read the 5 major resume mistakes to avoid

5 Worst Resume Mistakes is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Resume Tips for a Career Change
2. Don’t Make Theses 5 Cover Letter Mistakes?
3. Common Job Search Mistakes

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“Employers will question the interest to change careers mid-way and whether you have thoughtfully processed what a change in career may mean. Often times, there will not be an opportunity for a lateral move and the pay scale may be different. Other questions employers may have will concern whether you have transferable skills from your previous experience.

Faced with the various challenges of a career change, be prepared to address the questions that will come your way by following some simple rules of advice. You’re going to need a different approach to impress potential employers.”

Click here to continue reading.

5 Key Rules to Successfully Change Your Career is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. How to Successfully Plan a Career Change
2. How to Plan a Career Change
3. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career

via careerealism.com

“BEWARE: Job seekers aren’t the only ones who sometimes get creative when it comes to selling themselves (i.e. resumes and cover letters that have been, shall we say, “tweaked” to make a person look like the ideal candidate). Some employers have a tendency to use verbiage that makes their open positions sound better than they really are. Over the years, I’ve noticed some popular job descriptors that should be viewed as warning flags a potential employer might be trying to put an overly optimistic spin on a less-than-stellar work situation.”

When you are reading the want-ads, consider these following translations.

Click here to read more about what that job description really means.

What Does That Job Description REALLY Mean? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

via careerealism.com

“It’s the job of the cover letter to make the person want to read the resume. That’s it. The letter doesn’t get you the interview — that’s the resume’s job. But if your cover letter isn’t persuasive in a different way, your brilliantly crafted resume will never make it to the first pass.

So what makes a great cover letter?”

Click here for >> 5 easy tips to make your cover letter stand out

Does Your Cover Letter Stand Out? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter
2. How to Write a Perfect Cover Letter for Any Job
3. 5 Key Parts Of A Cover Letter

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“There are a few standard career management tips I recommend to every professional regardless of position, industry, experience level, or future ambitions.

These things are super easy to do and they help ensure you’re taking at least a minimally active role in your professional development. No matter how busy you are, there’s just no excuse to ignore these tips. Get started NOW.”

Click here to for 5 Career Management Tips to Follow Now!

Are You Following These 5 Key Career Management Strategies? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Career Success: 6 Key Factors
2. 5 Key Rules to Successfully Change Your Career
3. Successful Career Transition – 5 Skills

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“One of the worst things you can do during your job search is annoy the hiring manager at the company for which you want to work. Not only will it probably ruin your chances at landing the job at hand, but also you probably won’t be considered for future positions, either.”

Click here to read >> 5 Ways to Annoy Hiring Managers.

Are You Annoying Hiring Managers? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 5 Sectors Hiring Now

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“Have you done an audit on your e-mail address lately? I don’t mean opening up your account and looking for messages. I mean taking a closer look at the actual e-mail address you are using.”

“…an e-mail address could potentially torpedo your job search before you even get it off the ground because the one you are using doesn’t project a professional image.”

Click here for 5 Crucial Email Address Naming Tips for Professionals.

Is Your E-mail Address Sabotaging You? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

via careerealism.com

“Let’s face it, a blanket cover letter just isn’t going to cut it these days. So how can you make the best use of your time while maximizing your results? Here are a few simple steps to customizing your cover letters. (And if you don’t think you SHOULD customize your cover letter for each application you submit, then we have bigger problems than I thought…)”

>Click here and find out 4 important points to include in your cover letter to make it stand out from the rest of the crowd!

How to Write a Perfect Cover Letter for Any Job is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. How to Get a Job : How to Build a Cover Letter
2. Does Your Cover Letter Stand Out?
3. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter

via careerealism.com

“Job seekers are spending long, grueling hours, hitting the job front from multiple angles, but the stress is becoming unbearable.”

And so, here are 4 great ways to reduce your stress.

Click here to read the article.

4 Job Search De-Stressing Tips is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. 50+ Job Hunter – 15 Great Tips to Move Forward
2. 5 Ways to Be Smarter With Your Job Search
3. 3 Job Search Facts You Need to Know

via careerealism.com

“Standout from the Crowd of Experts

The number 1 strategy job seekers neglect is the selling of their UVP (unique value proposition) over other qualified candidates. Your competition is not the under-performer with an unpolished resume and poor communication skills! (Wouldn’t that be easy?)

Your competitor is smart, hired a professional resume writer, is articulate, and accomplished. So, you, must introspect, dig deep, and develop a enthralling marketing plan that persuades from resume, to online brand, to interview, and through follow-up by seducing your employer with the promise of success through a differentiating value you, and only you, can offer.

You must examine your career performance, find those special ways in which you deliver results–own them and promote them! Because to win in this challenged job market, you must sell a unique value proposition/a brand/a differentiating value.”

Click here to continue >> The #1 Problem Finding a New Job

The #1 Problem Finding a New Job is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

via education.yahoo.net

“Looking for a solid financial future?

While there are no guarantees in today’s world, getting a degree that promises job security and good pay – in good times and bad – is what many people are seeking to do.

But how do you know which degree to pick? To determine our list of degrees you can bank on, we took a look at job security data from various sources.

We also looked at PayScale’s 2010-2011 College Salary Report, which analyzed over 100 college majors to see what average salaries come with each bachelor’s degree.

The results are clear: some degrees greatly outperform others.”

Click here to discover the 6 degrees for best job security.

Thanks for stopping by – Theresa

Career Change Best Degrees for Job Security is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career
2. Lying on Your Job Application – What Can Happen?
3. Career Change Advice: Jump Start Your Career in 2011

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“We are all human and we all want to help each other. The idea is to get in touch with as many people you can (in the right channel), make a connection, gain their trust, cultivate the relationship, and earn a good lead. It is as easy as pie!”

These tips are not only a great way to grow your network, they are also great business etiquette.

Click here to learn all 6 tips

6 Tips to Grow Your Network is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 10 Secrets to Successfully Grow Your LinkedIn Network
2. 50+ Job Hunter – 15 Great Tips to Move Forward
3. Personal Branding: 7 Tips to Develop Your Persona

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“If you’ve constantly looked at other resumes to get ideas, you might find employers are on to your game. Weary of reading the same phrases over and over again, hiring managers are starting to expect more from top candidates who want to stand out in the crowded job market.

Here are 7 phrases that appear far too often on resumes, with recommendations on how to improve your wording for a sharper, more professional message”

Read 7 Overused Phrases

Thanks for stopping by Theresa

Job Resume: 7 Overused Phrases is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Resume Tips for a Career Change
2. How to Write a Resume that Helps You Get Your First Job
3. How to Get a Job

via careerealism.com

It’s now time to put that Cover Letter together…but how?

Here’s a concise article that demonstrates just that and best of all you can break it down into 5 easy parts.

Read how to put a good cover letter together

Thanks for swinging by – Theresa

PS: Good luck getting that interview!

5 Key Parts Of A Cover Letter is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter
2. Does Your Cover Letter Stand Out?
3. How to Write a Perfect Cover Letter for Any Job

via careerealism.com

You’re excited because you got that interview you had been hoping for lined up. Next step you start practicing how you are going to verbalize your accomplishments. But what is the best way to communicate your skills?

There is a great way to communicate your accomplishments that is both organized and doesn’t take forever to get your point across. This method is called STAR.

STAR stands for
S – Situation
T – Task
A – Action
R – Results

It’s a great way to organize your thought and when you’re in the middle of the interview remembering these steps helps you to stay focused.

I came across this article that explains a similar method of STAR, guess you could call it PAR. Here’s the link, so you can check it out and start getting prepared for that interview.

Good luck on the new job! Read about how to convey your accomplishments.

Thanks for stopping by – Theresa

Career Change Advice: How to Best Convey Your Accomplishments is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Career Change Advice: Jump Start Your Career in 2011
2. Is The Career Advice You’re Getting “Good Advice”?
3. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career

Why Should I Hire You? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Interview Tips: Why should we hire you? – the GOOD answer
2. Job Interviewing Skills: How to Highlight Your Experience

10 Rules to Start Your New Job on the Right Foot is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 5 Key Rules to Successfully Change Your Career

Resume Tips for a Career Change is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career
2. How to Plan a Career Change
3. How to Successfully Plan a Career Change

Your Resume & What It Says About You is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Resume Tips for a Career Change
2. Action Verbs to Kick Up Your Resume!
3. Is Your Resume is Mostly Useless?

You Can Work From The Beach! is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 5 Legitimate Work-At-Home Job Possibilities
2. Should I Work Long Hours for Low Pay in Order to Get Experience?

Action Verbs to Kick Up Your Resume! is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Resume Tips for a Career Change
2. Writing Your Resume
3. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter

How To Survive Dying Careers is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

50+ Job Hunter – 15 Great Tips to Move Forward is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. 4 Job Search De-Stressing Tips
2. LinkedIn Job Search Benefits: 3 Important Tips Know
3. Resume Tips for a Career Change

Not Getting That Job with a Leadership Role? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. What To Do When You Hate Your Job

Is Your Resume Just as Boring as Everyone Else’s? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Action Verbs to Kick Up Your Resume!
2. 5 Worst Resume Mistakes

Successful Career Transition – 5 Skills is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Career Success: 6 Key Factors
2. Job Interviewing Skills: How to Highlight Your Experience
3. 6 Soft Skills Employers Desire

Should I Work Long Hours for Low Pay in Order to Get Experience? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. 5 Legitimate Work-At-Home Job Possibilities
2. You Can Work From The Beach!
3. Not Getting That Job with a Leadership Role?

What To Do When You Hate Your Job is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. How to Get a Job
2. Resume Tips for a Career Change
3. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career

Preparing for a phone interview is a mental exercise, and something that takes a little common sense.  It is the second impression that you will make on a hiring decision maker – the first impression was obviously already made by your resume and cover letter, and must have been positive, or you would not have this interview appointment.  That being the case, it is worth while to prepare for it and be ready to put your best foot forward.

Follow these 10 steps for success:

1. Do your homework on the company before your phone interview

Do a search on the Internet using Yahoo, Google, Bing (MSN) or any of the major search engines. Look them up in an online database like Dun and Bradstreet or InfoUSA.

If you don’t have easy access to these online tools, go to your local library and tell the reference librarian what you are doing. She will be glad to provide you with information sources that will help you seem knowledgeable when having your phone interview.

2. Get yourself mentally prepared – rehearse

Practice in front of the mirror, or with a friend or your spouse listening to you, asking questions and playing the part of the interviewer.  Make a list of questions you expect the interviewer to ask and have good answers prepared, but have them on the top of your head in general and not memorized.  Memorized answers can sound canned and not real, and will not help you.  You need to appear genuine and real. Be yourself, and be comfortable.  Mock trials help lawyers, and rehearsals help musicians. It only makes sense that a practice interview will help an interviewee.

3. Have a good quality telephone

It may seem silly to even mention it, but the better quality phone you use, the better your voice will sound. Years ago everyone rented his or her telephones from the local utility phone company. These days people own their own phones, and while many people use good quality phones, many use the ten and fifteen-dollar phones they’ve found in the local dollar store or discount mart. Those phones are fine for talking to your friends, but for business use make a good business impression, and use a good phone. Add this tip to the mix as well: use a landline with a cord, and not a cell phone or cordless phone. Dead batteries, crackling sounds, bad cell sites, and weather interference can make you sound bad at the other end, and you may not even know it. When doing your phone interview you want to be clear and make a good impression. Take this tip to heart and use a good quality landline.

4. Prepare and practice two or three ideas that you want to get across to the interviewer as to why you are the right person for this job

If you are having trouble thinking of ideas, read your resume again.  Look for the key points, qualifications or accomplishments you have written, and be ready to discuss them. It is also a good idea to have your planner/calendar with you in anticipation of setting up future appointments.

5. Think of what you can do for the company

The hiring manager really doesn’t care why you would like the job; she cares about how you can help her company, if you are hired.

6. On the morning of the interview get dressed

Wear the same clothes when you are on the phone that you would wear if you were in front of the interviewer in person.  Dress for success and your attitude will reflect it.  Dress in your pajamas or an old sweat shirt and your attitude may reflect that as well.

7. Smile

Smiles are contagious, even if they can’t be seen.  Good salesmen know this and practice smiling on the phone.  There is something in your voice and attitude that is conveyed when you smile, and the person on the other end of the phone can sense it.  There is truth in the old saying, ‘Smile and the world smiles with you.’  It is basic human nature.

8. Speak clearly and enunciate

Use a good quality phone, a land line not a cordless.  If at all possible do not use a cellular phone for the interview.   Crackling noises are distractions and bad cell sites, leading to dropped calls, are a negative.  You only want positives during your phone interview.

9. Relax, be yourself and do your best

Offer to provide any other information they might need to make a decision.

10. Convey that you are excited about the position (if you truly are) and ‘close’

The ‘close’ (what it’s called in sales) is crucial – you need to ask to be furthered to the next step in the process.  This takes practice, however the smoothest transitions come naturally when you have have addressed the interviewer’s question thoroughly.

The interviewer will show some excitement for your qualifications if you have done steps 4 and 5. Sometimes she will just come out and tell you that will be receiving a face-to-face interview – then you know steps 1-9 were a success. And remember to thank the interviewer for her time.

Do you have any other tips for those that will be preparing for phone interviews? Please make your suggestions on the comments section below.

Thank you for reading – Theresa.

Phone Interview: 10 Tips for Impressing is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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Now that you’ve Pinpointed Your Perfect Career what do you do now, where do you start to find that perfect job?

Doesn’t it seem like a challenge to get a job?  At least at first. How do people find jobs? How do people find ‘good’ jobs?

The trick…use your resources.

Below is a short video to help you organize your resources and get started on the hunt for a new job!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCk-c20hwmk

How to Get a Job is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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1. Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career
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Have you ever felt stuck in your career?  Do you want a career change? Employee stress and burn out can account for a lot of dissatisfaction in your life.  After all, you are at work some 8 hours a day or more.  That’s 1/3 of your day if you don’t count sleep.  That’s a long time to be dissatisfied.  Let’s change that because life is too short.

If you feel stuck, here are 6 great ways to find your ideal career:

1.   Brainstorm on a sheet of paper – This is a tried-and-true strategy.  Take a pad of paper and write down at the top your objective in question form.  Then, simply list out 20 answers to your question.  For example, you could write ‘What should I be doing with my time and life?’.  Then stay seated for a half hour to an hour coming up with answers to that question.  The key to this exercise is coming up with 20 answers – don’t quit until you have 20 answers.  You can repeat every day until you get the answer you seek.

2.   Ask 3 close friends – Sometimes our friends know us better than ourselves.  While meeting with one of your friends, mention you are at a crossroads in your life and career.  Ask what they think you’d enjoy doing.  You might be surprised at how easily they can zero in to your strengths and abilities and report a perfect job area.

3.   Ask your boss and coworkers – much like your friends in the example above, your boss and coworkers most likely see you in a way you do not see yourself.  In fact, they are likely most familiar with your strengths and weaknesses in the work environment.  Compile all the answers you get from them and see if there are any common threads you can explore.

4.  Call a headhunter – If you are searching in your career, it’s likely you have a resume.  Sometimes you can catch a headhunter or recruiter during their slow times and meet with them to pick through what you might be good at.  I’ve done this and the people seem open to talking with people.  The ideas I get are usually good.

5.  Take a career assessment test – There are several sites on the Internet you might be able to take one of these tests for a fee.  But using my ‘headhunter’ tip above, many headhunters have this software and don’t mind you taking the test in their office.   I’ve taken these tests two times in my life and they usually take an hour or two, but they are thorough not too mention fun.  They ask you to answer a series of questions about what you are good at, what you like to do, what you prefer doing over what you don’t.  If you take one, you will likely see some new exciting areas to explore in your life.

6.   Keep a journal – Do you keep a journal?  If so, read through, looking for common threads in your writing.  Keep your eyes peeled for trends and activities you like as well as don’t like.  In fact, finding examples of what you don’t like and what frustrates you is almost as important as finding what you do like.  For example, if you hate an overwhelming boss, you’d probably like a self-directed position.  If you hate nosy coworkers you’d probably prefer your own office.

Discovering what you really want to do with your life is the most important decision you can make.  We spend 1/3 or more of our lives at work.  So figuring out the right career is important to keeping that 1/3 of our lives happy and productive.

Do you have any other suggestions to finding the perfect career? Enter them in the comments section below.

Thank you for reading – Theresa

Career Change: 6 Ways to Pinpoint Your Perfect Career is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. How to Get a Job
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Career success requires skills that companies look for in all employees, no matter what position. Master these key factors and boost your career success!

What do employers look for in job applicants?

This was the question that was posted recently on an online career discussion forum. Naturally, for each position, the answer to that question would be different. However, there are some common skills that companies look for in all employees, no matter what position they are filling.

In-Demand Skills for Career Success

1. Basic Skills

Reading, writing and arithmetic! Believe it or not, a good portion of high school graduates (and some college grads) do not read at an 8th grade level and cannot do multiplication in their head. Employers are seeking employees who can read well, can write coherently, and who can calculate mathematics in a business environment (fractions, percentages, etc.) Add to that the modern basic skills of keyboarding skill, basic computer knowledge, and ability to use most computerized tools (e.g. fax machine, basic word processing program, etc.) to round out the basic skill sets needed for employment success.

2. Personal Skills

Can a potential employee speak well? Can she answer questions of customers in a positive, informative manner? Can the prospect provide good customer service? While not everyone has an outgoing sales’ personality, successful employees can communicate in a non-confrontational, positive manner with their coworkers, team members, subordinates, management, and customers. Being able to work well with others is a vital skill for success in all jobs.

3. Job Attainment

Job search is a process that requires a great deal of dedication and attention to be conducted successfully. It follows the old principal that many veteran programmers refer to as ‘Garbage In, Garbage Out’. If you put lousy effort in, you will receive lousy results. Employers are seeking employees who know how to present themselves in a positive manner and who display enthusiasm and knowledge about the companies they approach. Not only do candidates get evaluated on their skills and experience, but also on how they are approaching the job search. Enthusiastic candidates with fewer skills have an even chance of getting the job as dull candidates with better skills.

4. Job Survival

Now there’s a hot topic in this period of layoffs. Who gets the ax and who doesn’t is often a matter of numbers, but it is also often a matter of performance. Employees who have consistently demonstrated their worth, taken initiative, and made themselves a valuable asset to the company have lower incidences of being downsized than employees who put forth mediocre or average effort in their jobs. Surviving within a company through layoffs or moving up the ladder is a career success skill that is learned and is consciously cultivated among successful professionals.

5. Professional Development

As all high tech and engineering pros know it’s learn or burn in today’s work environment. Attaining new skills, applying new concepts, updating established skills is an absolute necessity to succeed in today’s work force. The successful individual is constantly attending seminars, taking classes, attaining training on new products or releases, and otherwise learning new skills that will keep them marketable in their careers. Successful people are lifelong learners. Employers are looking for people who have the training necessary to fulfill their needs.

6. Career Development

Career Development differs from Professional Development. Professional Development is learning while Career Development is a planning and goal setting process. Successful individuals design a career plan with written goals for short term and long term. They lay out the steps needed to move their careers from Point A to Point B within Time Frame C and plan how they are going to achieve those steps. Successful people have someone to whom they are accountable for their progress and who will monitor their success in achieving their goals. Employers are seeking individuals who (believe it or not) wish to commit to the company for a long period of time. Good career progression is a high selling point of candidates to prospective employers.

How do you measure up? Do you have any other tips for career success?

Thank you for reading – Theresa

Career Success: 6 Key Factors is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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New job, second thoughts…now what!

You’ve landed what you thought was your dream job. Each stage of the interview went smoothly – you sold them on your skills and expertise, and your prospective manager sold you on the position and benefits of joining the company. She seemed excited about extending an offer. And then, after accepting the offer, it was thrilling to give your notice (or tell your friends you’re finally employed after a long stint of unemployment!). All seemed right with the world and you took took a big sigh of accomplishment.

You’ve now been on board a few days a week perhaps even a month. Suddenly you’re not so sure you’ve made the right decision. The job that seemed like a dream is starting to feel like a nightmare. Perhaps the position isn’t what you thought it would be; it’s either too narrow, too broad, not challenging enough, or more of a stretch than you imagined. Maybe the company isn’t measuring up. Or, perhaps your boss isn’t the caring, supportive mentor you thought she would be.

In a state of confusion, you wonder what you should do. Stick it out? For how long? Leave? Then what? The decision to stay or leave a job is a personal one, with no right or wrong answer, as everyone’s situation is unique. And most people, at one time or another, have been faced with this dilemma. To help you think through your next move and determine what’s right for you, here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:

Is it just the newness of the job? Change can be an unsettling experience. In your previous position, you knew your way around – you knew what was expected of you; you knew your job; you knew the players; you felt like you belonged. In a new job, however, it takes time to learn the ropes and feel like you’re truly adding value. Sometimes it’s best to give yourself time to get over the ‘newness’ and then decide if the job is right for you.

Can you live with your manager? Hiring managers sometimes put their best foot forward in an interview, then do an about-face when a new employee arrives. Even though your boss isn’t the supportive manager you thought she would be, can you live with the change? If so, it may be worth staying. If, however, you experience a nauseous stomach on Monday mornings or a rise in blood pressure every time she walks into your office, it may be wise to consider leaving.

Can you navigate the politics? Office politics can be the bane of many employees’ existence. If you’ve been hired into a political crossfire, it will be important to assess your political skills to determine if you can make it work. If politics aren’t your strength, you may want to leave before you find yourself failing without even knowing why. If you’re good at developing relationships and working with differing styles, as well as ‘managing up’, you may want to consider staying and seeing if you can make a tough situation work.

What will you learn if you stay in this job? Sometimes a seemingly wrong job can turn out to be a terrific opportunity to learn new skills, become exposed to new technologies, and gain valuable experience. Is it possible this job could be a stepping-stone to a better, more satisfying job down the road? Could it ultimately propel your career forward? If so, and you can tolerate everything else, it may be worth staying.

If the scope of the job has changed, can it be renegotiated? If the actual work turns out to be far different from what you thought it would be, you may want to speak with your manager to see if aspects of the job can be changed. If the scope is too narrow, can more responsibilities be added? If the workload is too great, can you get some assistance? If the job ultimately represents a step backwards and/or you’re doing work you didn’t feel like you signed up for, it may be worth looking elsewhere.

Can you afford to leave without another job to go to? If your boss, or the job, or the politics are so bad it’s beginning to affect your health and personal life, then leaving sooner rather than later may be the best move. But can you afford it? Carefully evaluating your financial situation prior to jumping ship will help alleviate regrets later on. Consider also the momentum you had in your job search prior to starting your job. Can it be easily resurrected so your time of unemployment is minimized?

The decision to stay or leave an intolerable new position is a tough one. How long to stay is also a dilemma. Many have left after two weeks, never to look back. Others have stayed, only to regret staying too long. And still others have stayed and managed to make everything work out. Only you can decide what’s best for you and your situation.

If you answer the above questions honestly, you will surely make the right decision for you. Pay attention to how you’re feeling and what the job is doing to your health and self-esteem. Recognize that the longer you stay, the greater the requirement to add the new position to your resume. Know that it’s always an option to stay and look for employment on the side. If you do that, it may be valuable to evaluate your job, boss, team, and culture requirements so you can develop some insightful interview questions to ask the next time around.

Talking with a trusted friend or colleague can be helpful during this challenging time. Whether you choose to stick it out and hope for the best, or leave right away and cut your losses, trust that you’ve made the right decision. And know that regardless of the outcome, the experience has presented an excellent opportunity for learning and personal growth that will be invaluable in helping you manage the rest of your career.

Have you been in this situation? What did you do and how did it turn out?

Thank you for reading  – Theresa

New Job Blues … Now What? is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. How to Get a Job
2. How to Get a Job : How to Build a Cover Letter

A man, interviewing for a Management position, answers the common interview question: Why should we hire you? This is an example of a GOOD way to answer this question.

Created by Fresno, California’s most respected Recruiting, Staffing and Human Resources consulting firm — Denham Resources.

Duration : 0:2:11

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Interview Tips: Why should we hire you? – the GOOD answer is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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A cover letter is a quick description as to why this resume is better for a particular job position than all the other resumes, so having specific job position details in it is very important. Write a cover letter specific to each job application by using these tips from a career adviser in this free video on job guidance.

Expert: Pat Goodwin
Contact: www.PatGoodwinAssociates.com
Bio: Pat Goodwin is an executive coach, trainer and career development professional. Goodwin is the owner and founder of Pat Goodwin Associates in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Todd Green

Duration : 0:4:2

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How to Get a Job : How to Build a Cover Letter is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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Want to get yourself out of a bad situation and into a better one? A solid resume is the first step.

Duration : 0:2:17

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How To Write a Resume is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

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Here is a video that takes the stress out of writing your resume. You’ll learn the 10 Rules for constructing an effective Resume. These rules will give you the confidence to write it quickly and more importantly, to discuss it effectively.

Duration : 0:3:36

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Writing Your Resume is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Writing Your Resume Cover Letter
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Here is a video to learn the essential elements in preparing a really great Resume Cover Letter. You will also learn the four parts of a Resume Cover Letter, as well as a review of an actual Resume Cover Letter that gets the job done.

Duration : 0:3:24

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Writing Your Resume Cover Letter is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Writing Your Resume
2. How to Get a Job : How to Build a Cover Letter
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A woman, interviewing for a pharmaceutical sales position, answers the common interview question: Tell me about yourself. This is an example of a GOOD way to answer this question.

When describing yourself, you should give specific examples of your professional and personal qualities. Intertwine those examples with your character traits that make you who you are. Stay relevant to the job position and company culture.

Created by Fresno, California’s most respected Recruiting, Staffing and Human Resources consulting firm — Denham Resources.

Duration : 0:3:14

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Interview Tips: Tell me about yourself. A GOOD answer / example. is an article from: Business Etiquette Basics. We invite you to stop by, we have more articles on career change and advancement.

You might also like to read:

1. Interview Tips: Why should we hire you? – the GOOD answer
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