Your workplace image inside and out

When you are job searching you need to pay attention to your workplace image inside and out.

What do I mean by that?

Well, you are probably aware that how you dress for an interview has a massive effect on how employable the interviewer considers you.

So dress as someone who is successful in the job for which you are applying. Don't dress too young, even if you are very young, and don't dress like an "old" person even if you are just a few years from retirement.

Dress professionally, job appropriate, smartly and showing some connection to current fashions.

Inside is a more difficult problem.

You may have heard the saying "Your belief is your reality." Henry Ford of Ford Motors is famous as saying "If you believe you can or you can not, you are right"

These are two ways of saying the same thing.

If you believe the interviewer will consider you too young, you will probably show that very quickly in your behavior. Instead have the mind set that you are mature and responsible enough to handle this job, and you will project that at an interview.

At the other end of the scale, if you apply for jobs with the mindset of "no-one will hire me because I'm old" then, once again, you are probably right.

Instead form the belief that you have experience, stability, proven work ethic and your maturity will be benefit to any workplace, whether populated by young or old.

Your actual age is chronological and out of your control.

Your mind set, including how old you see yourself as, is up to you.

See yourself as appropriate for the job you are seeking, and you are.

See yourself as too young, or too old (or too anything else!) and you are.

So get with the program. Inside and out.

And remember, your belief is your reality.

Sharing your other interests can find you a job

So you like jazz music, but the job you are seeking is that of a bookkeeper. How can you make jazz help you find your bookkeeping job?

Easy.

Find out where there is jazz in your community. Is there a festival, a group, and location where jazz is frequently played? Perhaps you're involved in those already. But are you using them to help you find a job?

With your 30 second commercial at the ready, you can talk to anyone at any of the jazz related events/ places you go to, and get help from them.

Once people relate to you, in this case through a mutual interest like jazz, they are more open and more likely to help you.

"I love this music and could spend my life just listening to it, but unfortunately I need to work! I wonder if you know anyone I can talk to - whether or not they are jazz enthusiasts like us - who might know of any possibilities for work in bookkeeping. I've been bookkeeping for 10 years, and have great skills and a terrific reputation for accuracy. Can you suggest anyone I could talk to, who might know of what's out there?"

Hand them your business card, then, if appropriate, continue to build rapport and share your mutual interest in jazz. Or move around, if appropriate to the venue, and chat to as many others, repeating the same process.

Go to any such event or occasion with a plan of action in mind. Make up your mind to talk to a specific number of people, and don't allow yourself to stand and chat to long time friends (who already know you are looking and have given you what help they can) until you have successfully completed your agenda.

So network with a goal in mind - but don't forget to enjoy yourself at the same time.

Here are some great resources to help with your job search:

WOW...Youre Hired! This Breakthrough Product Reveals The Secret For Getting Hired. Job Seekers Love It

Youre Hired! - The Complete Guide To Landing Your Dream Job! This Really Is The Complete Guide To Landing Your Dream Job Which Every Jobseeker Needs. 143 Pages Of Job Advice From A Recruitment Professional, Plus Some Stunning Free Bonuses.

Job Seach help in person...

Networking can get you a job

Networking can get you a job!

In fact it’s the No. 1 way to do so.

Take a look at the questions below and check out your networking quota.
0= I do not do up to 5 = I consistently do

Meeting People:
Who do you know?
• It’s important not just to meet people, but to let them feel they know me: I know it's not who I know, but who knows me that counts
• I "connect" effectively daily with people I meet either formally or informally
• I smile when I answer the phone because I know the person on the other end can hear it
• I don’t wait for others to introduce themselves to me: I go ahead and introduce myself
• I’ll be one of the first to arrive at any meeting or group to give me more chance to meet more people
• I make connections for others, by introducing them to each other
• People usually seem relaxed and comfortable in my company: I am approachable, friendly, kind and polite
• My handshake is always firm, but not strong enough to cause pain, and I look the other person in the eye as we shake hands.
• I frequently enlist others help by asking “Do you know anyone who….?”

Communicating with others:
Effective communication
• I use active listening skills, so others know I am interested and listening
• I always read a business card when I receive it, and comment if appropriate
• When I receive a business card, I write on the back of it any information about that person I wish to remember
• When someone is telling me something, I ask questions to show interest and to get more information
• I work at remembering names, jobs and businesses of people I meet
• I have a effective 30-second introduction that tells who I am, what I do and what I am looking for
• I understand that every time I meet another person it can be considered a “networking event”
• I believe in “give to get” and I offer any help or assistance I can to those I meet

Connecting is of premium importance
Make an impact. What do you want to be remembered for?
• My business/ networking cards are up to date and in good condition, and I always have plenty with me
• I know the ideal time to give out my business/networking card is at the end of a conversation, not at the beginning
• I keep the business cards I receive, and check regularly to see remind myself of all the connections I have made
• I go to meetings and am involved with networking and professional organizations appropriate to my field
• When I go to networking events I have an agenda to meet a specific number of new people and do not just chat to people I know until I have achieved this goal.
Follow up
Keeping in touch
• I take the time to think of ways to continue connecting with others I have met
• I return e-mails and phone calls within 24 hours or less whenever possible
• When making a business or job related phone call, I am prepared for either a live person or voice mail, and come across sounding professional and organized.
• I keep my promises and follow up on commitments so others come to think of someone who can be trusted

Not many people can score 5 for every question, but obviously the higher your score the better you are doing at networking. So take a look at your lower scores and consider ways you can improve in these areas.

Finding work is all about people, who you know and who knows you.

Find a Job: The Best Ways and the Worst Ways

As with every thing else in life, there are best and worst ways to find a job.
There are effective and ineffective methods of job search.

In general terms, when you do something that does not actively involve interacting with another human being, you will be less successful. When you contact individuals, you will be more successful.

Least Successful Ways of finding work:

1. Answering newspaper, magazine or online job advertisements.
This method averages around 7% success rate, and yet it is the only form of job search that many people engage in. Think about it, when you apply for an advertised job, you are in competition with everyone else who is doing the same. In a tight job market, this can mean hundreds of other job seekers.
It’s by no means impossible to land a good job through the classifieds, or the employment pages on websites, but it is not one of the more successful methods.

2. Mailing resumes to employers, unasked.
If the employer is not actively looking for an new employee with your skills, and your resume arrives uninvited in his/her inbox, (paper or electronic) s/he is unlikely to bother much about it. Of course, if you are lucky, you’re resume will arrive just as someone has handed in their notice … but what are the chances of that!
If you do send out resumes to employers unasked, to make this method at all productive, you must follow up promptly with a phone call (tell the employer in your cover letter that you will do so – the do it!)

3. Listing your name with Employment Agencies
Again, you may get lucky. In the more general jobs, like office administration, you may well get several short term postings, and may even eventually find a company who wants to “buy” you from the agency and give you a permanent job. The lower paying the job you are seeking, the more chance you have for success with this method.
According to Richard Bolles of “What Color is your Parachute”, these methods outlined above all have a below 10% success rate.

However, that does not mean there is no work out there. There is. You just have to know how to find it. Read on:


Most Successful Ways of finding work:

1. Talk to people, everyone and anyone. Ask them not only if they know of any jobs in your field, but also if they know anyone who works in your field that you could talk to – not to ask for a job, just to find out where they think there might be possibilities for you. Usually people have a pretty good idea what is out there in their own field of employment.

2. Cold call on employers even if they don’t appear to be hiring. Phone and ask if you can come in to see them, on in smaller companies, just show up and ask to see the manager or human resource person. If they are busy, ask to make an appointment. Dress professionally, and have your resume with you.

3. Use the Yellow Pages. Look up the index in the Yellow Pages for every heading that might apply to you, the read the entries under each heading. Write down the names of any company you think might employ people with your skills. Either online, or by phone, find out the name of the hiring manager, then proceed as above with a cold call.

The most successful method of all:

Combine all of the above.

Here a great resource to help you find a job.

Job Hunting: let your fingers do the walking

Less and less of us let our fingers do the walking through paper pages any more. It's all online. But ye olde yellow pages still have their uses in job search.

Here is one.

At the front of your yellow pages is an index. It lists all the categories that appear later on in the book.

By scanning down the index you may come up with some category names that are a fit for your job search, that you hadn't previous considered. The reason is that there are so many ways to word various types of businesses, that you may not think of them all.

Reading the index in the yellow pages can show you the ones you've missed.

Of course, what you then do is go to these sections and go down through all the listings and contact each and every company that seems at all likely to hire people with your skills.

This way of job searching has a very high success rate.

Working from home can be a full time, or a part time alternative to a "job."

.

Phone Empoyers: Just do it!

No-one likes making cold calls.

However the question is: what is more important to you - avoiding making cold calls or getting a job?

If getting a job is more important, make the cold calls!

Yes, of course, you are going to experience some rejection. But it's not personal. It's just that they don't have any jobs, or time to talk to you.

Just take it at face value and move on to the next call.

Cold calls work.

Prepare a script, with how you want to introduce yourself, and then get on the phone to any employer who might hire someone with your skills.

If they say no, ask if they know who is hiring.

Don't ask if you can call back again ... they might say no!

Instead, just mark down on your list when you phoned, and follow up again in a few weeks, if you are still job hunting.

Try this Simple Job Search System.

Contact Employers Directly

When you are job seeking, especially in tough times, contacting employers directly reaps more benefit than looking in the job ads.

Here's why.

When an employer realizes they need another worker, they go through the following process:
- Do I know anyone who could do this job?
- Does anyone else in the company know anyone who could do this job?
- Do I know anyone in another company who could do this job?
- Have I heard of anyone, even if I don't know them personally, who could do this job?
- Do the employment agencies I have used before have anyone who could do this job?
- Is there any other avenue I can go down to find someone to do this job? Chamber of Commerce, Professional Associations I'm connected with, Business Networking Groups I attend?
- There seems to absolutely no-one that I know, or any one I know, knows, who can do this job, so I will have to advertise!

So when you just look in the job ads, you are getting the jobs that are left over after every other avenue of finding that new employee have been exhausted.

You are better than that. You deserve more than the left overs. Go to employers directly. Offer your services. Ask if they know of anywhere that might be looking for someone with your skills. Keep knocking on doors, phoning, making connections and meeting people. That's the best way to find work in any job market, but especially in tough times.

How To Get The Job You Want. Uncovers The 'Hidden' Job Market Without Working Through Job Boards Or Recruiters- Cuts The Job Search Time In 1/2