Page 22 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Part 1 ➤ Plan to Succeed

“That sounds so simple,” you say. “I’ll do one of those steps each day
and have a great job in just a week.” Whoa there! It would be wiser to
take as much time as you need and can afford, especially on the first
two steps, so that you end up with a job you love.

For most folks, the steps run in the order I just mentioned and can
span anywhere from a few weeks to several months. An old career-
Job-Hunt Hint development formula says it takes one month of job searching for
every $10,000 in annual salary you make. In other words, if you make
Wise advice: "The best invest-
$80,000, prepare to spend eight months looking for your new job.
ment you'll ever make is in
yourself." Invest in yourself by Of course, that equation is only a rule of thumb and will vary based on
spending the necessary time, the job market, your drive, your connections, and—you guessed it—
energy, and money to develop a your resume. From my experience with hundreds of job seekers, I can
sound strategy for your career. assure you that a dynamite resume can cut that time formula in half.

Let’s look at each of the five job-search steps and start thinking about
your great future.

Bonus Check

To ensure that you get a job you really love, take as much time as you need to
➤ Explore your career-move possibilities.
➤ Understand all that a job entails before you accept it.
➤ Find out about the organization’s culture.
➤ Learn what advancement possibilities the job holds.

Get a Life

Whether you’re looking for your first job or you’re at a crossroads in a
20-year career, it pays to do some long- and short-term planning before
looking for a job. Although no one’s future is guaranteed, good plan-
ning leads to wise choices, which usually lead to satisfying results.

Terms of Employment You can get help making your life plans in several ways:
Career counselors help their ➤ Join a career center (private, nonprofit, state, or college) where
clients assess their qualifications you can work one-on-one with a counselor, attend career-related
and decide what career moves classes, and browse through its resource center.
to make. Career coaches help
➤ Hire a private career counselor who will sit down with you for one
their clients form job-search
or several sessions to help you assess your values, personality,
strategies and motivate them
to accomplish their goals.

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