Take Ownership of Your Career Path

Are you where you want to be? Here are 3 tips for taking control of your career path.


1. Have a destination in mind.

Know what type of work you want to be doing in a few years and where you’d like to be in five more years. Your goals will guide you along your decision making process as you take ownership of your career path.


2. Network with others along the way.
Now that you have a general idea of which direction you would like to go, it is time to meet some fellow travelers that are headed down that same path. It’s not just how much you know, it’s who you know. Go to conferences, industry events, or lectures. Shake hands and come back again. And again. You’ll slowly develop a group of professional contacts that you can start to grow closer with.


3. Provide value to your network.

Proper networking has a key word in it: work. Being a strong member of your own network requires work. It requires reaching out and follow up! The best networkers are those that meet people, learn about them, and let the other person talk. Then the networker helps that person in the network connect to another or simply provides some guidance on an issue. Just like you shouldn’t wait until you are laid off to update your resume, you shouldn’t build your network the moment you need it.

Job Interviews: The Wow Factor

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3 impressive qualities of job candidates and how to prove your have them:

1. Results – Have concrete examples of how you’ve delivered on a project. The more detail, the better.

2. Preparation – Have questions ready for the interviewer that demonstrate you’ve researched the company.

3. Passion – Don’t just give the answer you think they want to hear. Show that you have a true interest in their business.

How Many Resumes Do You Need?

To catch a recruiters eye and hold their attention, job-seekers need to tailor a resume to each position. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Create a Master Resume. To help you draft multiple resumes, start with one resume that will act as your master. This document should include all of the jobs you’ve had and everything you accomplished at those jobs. Once you’ve listed everything you can think of, you can look at your resume from different perspectives.

Tracking. Create an Excel spreadsheet to track all of your resumes. Spreadsheets allow you to record jobs you’ve applied for, record which resumes you sent, and track responses and interviews you have scheduled.

Tailored Objective Statement. Your resume objective should change with each job. You want to be specific and tell a potential employer exactly what you’re looking for and why they should hire you by explaining your long-term work goals.

Switch Up Your Skills. The skills section in your resume should cover everything in the job advertisement. If the company is looking for a self-starter and a team player, make sure those are both skills listed on your resume. Don’t misrepresent yourself or lie, but cover the elements that the company is looking for.


Read more here.

Be More Productive

Whether in your job or school, it’s important to get things done! Follow these simple steps to increase your personal productivity and job performance.