A big question a lot of professionals are pondering these days is “am I happy with my job choice?”. 

So where do you start when you are trying to find career-choice assurance? With yourself! Your absolute authentic self and what makes you truly happy and excited. There are many ways to accomplish this but the best place I’ve found for anyone to start is by writing it all down.

Get in touch with what your goals are and take inventory of the kinds of jobs you’re most interested in and the companies that really appeal to you. You might also think about people you know who seem to have your “dream job.”

Even if you are “just looking for any job,” don’t forget these things. They’re important to keep in mind for the future and to keep you on track with your long-term goals.

 

 

So what do you do if you decide you want to change your career? It’s time to execute a job search!

The first thing you will need is a good resume. Below are 5 winning resume tips for achieving your job search goals:

 

Consistent – A good resume is consistent in terms of its punctuation, language, and formatting. There’s nothing more distracting for a recruiter or hiring manager than a resume that has periods after some bullets but not others. It’s equally distracting when a resume uses many different fonts and spacing, or when it mixes past and present tense for the same job.

 

Concise – Being concise in a resume and also in your LinkedIn profile is right up there with consistency. If the reader has to slog through information or struggle to understand a point, they may just skip over your info altogether.

 

Results-Focused – I love a resume that illustrates not only what someone did in a role or in school, but also the outcome of that action and how it impacted the organization. For instance, if you were in charge of hiring Summer Interns, that’s great. But please also tell me how many you hired, how long it took, what methods you used, and whether the process was faster or more successful than in previous years. Did you hire any as full employees?

This kind of information is incredibly useful. It markets you more effectively as an individual and does a better job of telling your professional story.

 

Customized – Even if you just take 5 minutes, please customize your resume to the best of your ability for each role you apply for. It can make all the difference when it comes to a sea of applicants.

 

Reviewed – People often become very attached to their work experience and their resume. As a result, they struggle to stay objective when presenting themselves on paper. Having someone else review your resume can do wonders – even if that person isn’t a resume or hiring professional.

A fresh set of eyes can point out items that don’t support your goals, highlight qualities or achievements you may have overlooked, and even catch spelling errors. The more eyes on your resume, the better.

You may also find yourself asking: “Is my LinkedIn and online presence really that important?”

YES.

 

There may be some industries that rely less heavily on LinkedIn profiles than others, but they are few and far between, and will catch up to the rest of the world quickly. There’s a lot of recruiting, networking, and referencing that happens in the LinkedIn space so it’s important to make sure you’re up to date and fairly active. 

The best way to stay on top of your online presence is to:

Make all your socials private.

Google yourself utilizing quotations around your full name, maiden name, etc. You might be surprised what you find.

Set up a Google alert with your name to alert you if something comes up in the future.

 

So now you have decided on a career path, got your resume ready and are gearing up for an interview. What’s the best way to prepare yourself to get the job?

• Check out the company website.

• Google the company + “news.” See if anything new is happening with them – bankruptcy, expansion, or new initiatives.

• Research your interviewers on LinkedIn. Finding a personal connection is great (for example, “I see we both went to Vanderbilt”). Even if you don’t, simply understanding their career path will help you identify the best approach and prepare smart questions to ask.