Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search and Work Life
Job-hunting tips from the March 8, 2010, issue of
QuintZine.
If you're in job search mode, you should create a binder," writes career coach Ford Myers, "-- your
very own Career Transition Binder. I've found that there are two types of job seekers: those who create
a binder to keep track of all their networking, interviewing, career documents, lists, and contacts in one place
-- and those who don't."
Myers goes on: "Guess which group tends to make more progress, get more interviews, land great jobs
more quickly, and negotiate better deals? Yup -- the binder people!
"Think you can track and manage all this information 'electronically' -- on your Smart Phone, PDA or Netbook?
Think again! I've had plenty of technology-savvy clients try to do this, but it never works. They ALWAYS wind up
using a paper-based organization system, in the form of their own Career Transition Binder.
"Your Career Transition Binder will help keep you organized and allow you to know where everything is. Think of it as
'Command Central' for your entire career transition campaign. After all, you need to take your career transition as seriously
as any REAL job you're ever going to have. Treat it like a work project!"
Are you spending enough time on your job search? Probably not if you're like most
job-seekers. Citing the U.S. Department of Labor, Donna Sweidan notes that "job-seekers are at it
for approximately 18 minutes a day" and are thus "operating at about 25 percent capacity." If you are
unemployed, job-hunting needs to be as close to a full-time job as you can possibly make it. Sweidan
offers a Job Search Savvy Test
to help you see if you're doing enough of what it takes to land a job.
Executive career coach Rita Ashley has taken some heat for exposing a nasty, dirty secret of the job-search
world: Age discrimination is alive and kicking. She interviewed hiring decision-makers who admit to age bias and provide
their rationale. Some of their reasons:
Workers with many years of experience (say 25+) are likely to rely on old expertise.
Mature workers are more likely to sue if they are fired.
Mature workers don't put in the long hours that are sometimes needed.
Mature workers don't always adapt well to newer technologies and processes.
Mature workers are slow to make decisions.
Mature workers sometimes lack energy and enthusiasm.
If you're in job search mode, you should create a binder," writes career coach Ford Myers, "-- your
very own Career Transition Binder. I've found that there are two types of job seekers: those who create
a binder to keep track of all their networking, interviewing, career documents, lists, and contacts in one place
-- and those who don't."
