To change or not to change?

It is very easy after you have been unemployed for a while to start exploring new areas for employment. If you have reached this stage then I would ask you to stop and have a think.

Do you really want to change your area of work? Seriously, think about it. If you are completely sure that you do and this is not a decision taken from desperation then please go ahead. If not then you should continue to apply for positions that play to your strengths and capitalise on the work you have been doing.

Changing direction even in the good times is difficult. You need to be resilient to rejection and show great determination and of course have total conviction that you are doing the right thing.

 

How do you do this?

As with everything, you need to take the time to do the research.

 

Think about:

• What you enjoy doing
• What you are trained to do
• What you can afford in terms of retraining

Read as much as you can about the careers you are interested in and talk to people who are already doing these jobs.

  

Preparation and determination will be the keys to your success.

 

 

 

Gird your loins for 2010

Although in Switzerland the economy has not suffered as much as many developed nations, the economy has still experienced a recession.

Things are picking up, the economy came out of recession in Q3 2009 and things are set for modest if sluggish growth during 2010.
However, job seekers should gird their loins; Seco forecast that the labour market will not see serious growth before 2011.

What to do to improve your chances?
• Network
• Work with a professional recruiter
• Educate yourself
• Innovate

The right career choices

You will be very lucky if you hit the right career choice immediately. For many of us it takes a few attempts before we find a route that gives us the first inkling that we have made the right choice.

What can you do to improve your chances?

Research is the simple answer.

Take the time to sit and think about the simple things that matter. What you enjoy doing, what your motivation for working is and how much you would realistically like to be paid.

The more you prepare for the job search ahead the better you will fare.

Once you have taken the time to prepare, perhaps even worked with an experienced career advisor, you have to take that leap into the unknown. Remember this, it is ok to fail, because without failure there is no success

Playing to your strengths

Now more than ever you need to prepare for the interview and in the process of interviewing upwards of twenty people a week it amazes me that not every one is understanding this.

Surely everyone knows that they will be questioned on personal strengths and yet so few people are prepared.

Admittedly it is often extremely difficult to answer, but even more reason to have thought it through before hand.

If you are finding it difficult to do, talk to the agent who is representing you (if you have one) failing that, talk to friends and ask them what they think your strengths and weaknesses are and practice answering the questions with them so that you come across fluently and articulately in a real interview situation.

A sense of urgency in your approach

This is an example of how not to get the job.

You have sent your CV to a company or an agency who are seriously recruiting for a position.

They call you and ask you for an interview, suggesting a time within the next couple of days. You are currently unemployed and live within half an hours train journey.

"I can't do it, perhaps one day next week?" is your reply.

This does not give the impression that you are really interested in the job and the interviewer will no longer be persuaded that you are a serious prospect.

Most interviewers realise you cannot just drop everything and be at their beck and call, but if you really cannot make the first couple of times they suggest, please have a credible excuse why not and express it sympathetically and succinctly.

Clean up your social networking

Social networking sites have become such a part of modern life that most of the generation Y users do not stop to think of the potential long term dangers of posting their everyday activities on the web.

Whilst it is possibly entertaining or interesting to know your friends' every move, whether they got drunk on their evening out and to what extent, or who did what at the latest party, users of social networking sites must learn to think ahead.

2005, a lifetime ago in Internet technology terms, Execunet conducted research on the usage of search engines by recruiters. Even then, over 70% of employers and recruiters were using search engines to check out possible employees and over 30% of these potential employees were being rejected as a result of the research.

Times have moved on, as have the social networking sites, and the potential for employers to check on prospective employees is far greater and expanding. I am constantly surprised by the naivety of candidates with regard to their online profiles.

For the sake of your future:

• When you create profiles, please make sure that the privacy settings are stringent, only trusted people can look you up
• Think before you post. Don't let ill thought-out comments come back to haunt you in the future
• Be particularly aware of remarks about your drinking, drug and tobacco usage
• Google yourself at regular intervals to try and ensure only the most wholesome of information is available about you 

You don't have to change who you are, but you do have to safeguard your private life. Think ahead, protect your future.

For goodness sake, follow up your interview

I am always surprised at the number of candidates who think that it is enough to make a favourable impression in the interview and then don't follow that up.

With the current employment situation being what it is, the successful candidate will be the one who has convinced the company that they are the unique individual who not only can do the job, but who is also enthusiastic about the position.

How to do this?

Naturally you have to nail the interview, but whether you think you have or not take a few moments directly after the interview to think it through and find one or two points where you think you achieved empathy with the interviewer or interviewers.

I personally think you cannot beat sending a personal handwritten letter but it is perfectly acceptable to send your interviewer/s a thank you email. Mention in this correspondence the points you think will reinforce a positive impression of you. Get someone to check the letter before you send it, just in case.

You may not get the job on this occasion but unless something went horribly wrong in your interview, you will leave a good impression which may lead to something in the future.

Is there a perfect CV?

Probably not, but with thought and planning you can write the CV that will get you the interview.

As a serious job hunter you should realise that you must develop a standard CV, a catch all that you can then customise specifically for the position you are applying.

Once you have a job that you wish to apply for, research it and the company. Make a call to the person you believe is responsible, tell them you want to apply and ask a few prepared questions about the job, including a question asking whether this person will be the only one responsible for reading through the CV's. Write down the responses; use them to customise your CV.

 Points to remember: 

• Put all your contact details on the CV, it is amazing how many people forget
• No matter how experienced you are try and keep the CV to a maximum of 3 pages. What I have found useful is a CV supplement with project or more detailed information which you can attach to the email or letter that you write
• Information on your family is really not necessary and takes up space that could be better used
• Check your grammar and spelling, ask someone else to check it if possible (I have lost count of the number of CV's with typos in which their sender informs me that they are attentive to detail)
• Don't use text speak
• Write a personalised, one page long (maximum), cover letter 

Last and certainly not least, make sure that you send your CV to the correct address and if you do not hear anything after three days give them a friendly call and politely ask if they got your details. I know my spam folder has been known to include some interesting stuff, don't let this scupper your dream job.

Blowing away unemployment blues

Is it possible to enjoy the unemployment experience?

Yes, this is a serious question. Unemployment brings with it a mixture of emotions, mostly people focus on the negative, fear, panic, unhappiness and this in itself breeds further unhappy emotions. However, as with other situations positive thinkers will weather unemployment better than those who succumb to the negative.

So what can you do to find the positive in the situation?

• Focus on what you want to be doing in the workplace. Studies have shown that job hunters who plan well in the initial stages get more interviews, which will increase your self belief and your overall performance
• Make a list of things that you enjoy doing and when you have the time during your job seeking start doing them. They don't have to cost anything and you will see that they have a huge benefit to your state of mind
• Eat well; food can dramatically affect your mood. So stock up on things like berries, nuts, oranges and of course dark chocolate
• Exercise will increase your endorphins, improving your overall positive thinking, and research has shown that group exercising is even more effective
• Minimise the time you spend with people who have a negative outlook on life
• Work does not need to mean paid employment. You can derive immense pleasure from performing some sort of voluntary work and who knows this might lead to interesting and unexpected opportunities for you

Staying positive may not be easy but it is possible.