Do you feel engaged with your work? Are you using
skills, talents, and attributes that you enjoy? Are you consistently
eager to head to work each day? Do you feel good about your work-related
accomplishments? If you answered yes to these questions…great!
You are among the minority of people in New England who are satisfied
with their jobs.
However, if you constantly dream about a different
job, you might benefit from the following tips on how
to choose a job that’s right for you.
- Know who you are. As a first step, begin
searching your soul, rather than combing the job postings.
Have a clear sense of your interests, values and priorities
as well as the particular skills you enjoy using. Heading into
the job market with confidence about yourself will provide
a positive foundation for your search.
- Know what you want. Your job criteria will probably vary depending on your life stage. What a 22-year old single woman is seeking is likely to be vastly different from the wishes of a 40-year old mother with two school-age children. Think about what you want in a job: level of responsibility, compensation package (including vacation and personal time), work environment and mission/purpose of the organization.
- Know how to present yourself effectively.Your résumé should reflect your background, experience and skills. In addition, it needs to incorporate the key words associated with the position for which you are applying. If you are changing careers or returning to the job market after parenting, consider a functional format rather than a chronological one. (For more information on résumés, go to my blog: www.business.mainetoday.com and click on the category on résumés and interviewing.) Put your best self forward in your interviews and be prepared to back up any skills you claim with specific relevant examples. (See Amy Jaffe's article on interviewing later in this section.)
- Know the marketplace. Become an informed job seeker. Investigate options through the process of informational interviewing in which you set up meetings with people whose job interests you. This strategy allows you to receive accurate and timely information about the positions you are considering. Many employers request salary requirements of applicants. Don't hedge this question entirely. Investigate the salaries through on line search engines like www.indeed.com and www.salary.com. Most state departments of labor provide current labor information, including salary averages for many jobs in that particular state.
- Trust the timing of it all. If you've done your best to prepare yourself for the job search, yet the offer has not come in, don't give up! There are many decisions and actions that have to happen in order for positions to become available. Your timing may not coincide exactly with the marketplace. Trust that eventually you will find the job you desire. Be persistent, stay positive and ask for support in your search.
Barbara
Sirois Babkirk owns Heart At Work, a career counseling business
in Yarmouth, Maine. For more information on Barbara's work, her
women’s retreats in Provence and her weekly blog with tips on work,
go to: www.barbarababkirk.com.
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