Get a Better Job…. Start THIS WEEKEND!
If you can’t wait until the weekend and LOVE Friday – you probably don’t like your job very much, and may want a better job! It is time for a change! Or MAYBE it is just that job hunting is something you keep putting off- promising yourself that next Monday you will start… and here we are 12 weeks later… and NOTHING… Sound like you?
Fact: In Just 48 hours, you can jumpstart a successful job search.
If you follow my advice you will have a productive weekend without missing out on the fun!!
Friday Night : Have a blast – but get some great rest so you are ready for your 48 hr CHANGE of Life….
Saturday : Set up a morning coffee (if you are brave) or lunch with friends/family. These are the friends that you can trust to give you good advice- I don’t mean yes men… but the ones that will help you when you need to vent, those who will see your strengths and what you are great at.
So what do you do at this meeting? Chat, tell them about your perspective for your career, have them help you flesh out a great plan. You probably have a clear idea of what you want and goals you have for yourself professionally- share and get the support you need. It will also help you change your attitude get you PUMPED for getting this all going.
Afternoon: Okay – stop bitchin about your job – how much you hate your boss – how much your employers IRK you!
I totally get it- this is usually the biggest barrier… because it seems SO time consuming. Don’t get bogged down with that thought. Set a timer for an hour and do this during that hour:
- It is time to sit down – get out the requirements employers are looking for. See what SKILLS they want. I KNOW this sounds like a monumental task… It REALLY isn’t… Write out what you do – don’t worry about the wording – write out phrases of your current job – this will take 10 minutes.
- Read through them and put a little star next to the top 4-6 BEST resume worthy tasks… These should be the most impressive responsibilities, and most relevant to the jobs you want to land – this will take 5 minutes TOPS!
- Turn these tasks into bullets… This will take the most time – but FORCE yourself to do this… Strong bullet points will clarify achievements and answer the “HOW did you do this” questions to help grow the BIG picture. (30 minutes)
- SUMMARY time! Don’t run away from this- it is SUPER critical… Think of 3 words that describe you professionally- Are you innovative? Consistently Recognized, are you strategic, Sales Focused? Start with those ideas- and in this summary really hit all of the points that an employer is looking for – mirror out phrasing they have in their open position requirements… This will help you be the perfect candidate.
That is it! Go party hard Saturday Night!
Sunday: It is formatting time… The cool thing- You have ALREADY done the hard work! Look up executive resume formats – open MS word and try to make the format as best as you can.
Start with your name, and contact details in the header…
Then put the title of the job you want and under that the summary with some great bullet points of your strengths in that field… Are you bilingual? Have a Masters or Doctorate? Put it here too! Those make GREAT bullet points…
Under that – list down your Career History – where you worked, dates, job title… and then put in your bullet points that you wrote Saturday
See? – It is really getting built well!
Write down a headline for Education & Technical skills.
Add in where you went to school – your coursework taken… leave out HS…
Also list your Tech Skills- MS Office, Adobe? EPIC? Sales Force? Cisco? Etc…
Lastly- any notable Highlights- or Certifications, or Associations you belong to relevant to your job. List them neatly at the bottom. This might also be Great Achievements to really make them stand out- like for financial or sales, etc…
