The last thing you need when trying to get ahead in your career is confusion about what steps to take next. Fortunately, with the help of Career Coach Insider, you can always count on getting advice that will move you forward and allow you to achieve your goals at work, regardless of where you are in your career right now or how far away you might be from the position you want. Each month, Career Coach Insider provides you with the latest tips on how to advance your career while keeping your sanity, improving relationships with coworkers, and making sure that you’re always working toward your goals.
Contents
The Job Search
The latest tips and advice for your job search from Career Coach Insider. Learn how to find a job, get an interview, ace an interview, prepare for an interview, dress for an interview, follow up after an interview and more!
The Cover Letter
The first thing hiring managers will see when reviewing your resume is your cover letter. Your cover letter introduces you to a company, and it should give hiring managers a taste of what you can do for them (and why they need you). Just like with your resume, keep it to one page and make sure it matches up with what’s on your resume.
The Resume
The first thing a potential employer will see is your resume, so make sure it’s professional, clear, and to the point. Make sure you have all of your skills and past jobs listed clearly on there. Don’t forget to list any certifications you may have! Also, include things like a skill or language translator if applicable (ex: Microsoft Office 365). If you are applying for multiple positions within an organization, only send one resume for each job application.
The Interview
Before you go into an interview, ask yourself: What do I want to get out of it? The goal of an interview should be to leave knowing whether or not you got what you came for. If not, then you need to change something about your approach.
That’s why it’s so important to go into an interview with a clear purpose. You need to know what you want to accomplish and how you can best do that. Your goal is to leave feeling as though you accomplished your objective. If not, then you need to figure out what went wrong and come back ready for another round of questioning.
At-home Interview Practice: The easiest way to practice is by preparing answers to common interview questions for managers or for any position you want to achieve, whether they are relevant or not.
What If I Don’t Have a Degree?
While a college degree can provide an edge, earning one isn’t a prerequisite for landing your dream job. While 69% of Americans say that it’s very important to have a college degree in order to get ahead in life, there are plenty of well-paying jobs out there that don’t require you to make your way through four years of higher education.
Put yourself out there!
Are you eager to break into a new industry but haven’t had any luck with your job search? It could be time to put yourself out there! Join a club related to your dream career, meet people who work in that field and network with them, volunteer for an organization, or start helping out around the office if you know someone already working at a company in your desired field. Any way you can put yourself out there is better than doing nothing at all.
