Exploring Careers Through Job Shadowing

Exploring Careers Through Job ShadowingExploring Careers Through Job ShadowingJob shadowing is a career exploration activity that offers an opportunity to spend time with a professional currently working in your career field of interest. Job shadowing offers a chance to see what its actually like working in a specific job. Not only do job shadowers get to observe the day-to-day activities of someone already employed in the industry youre interested in, job shadowers get a chance to have their questions answered. Explore Your Career Options Career exploration is the second phase of the career planning process. Once the first phase of self-assessment is completed, it is then time for you to learn mora about the vast array of career options that currently exist. Of course, the internet offers a multitude of resources from which you can learn about careers. ONet OnLine, The Occupational Outlook Handbook, and WetFeet are just three of the offerings. You can also check the Career Servi ces Office at your college to see if they can recommend additional resources. In addition to reading about the career options that exist, gaining exposure and first-hand experience through job shadowing (as well as internships) can make the difference between assuming what a potential career would be like and experiencing it first-hand by working on-site. How to Snag a Job Shadowing Experience First, check with your college to see if they offer a formal job shadowing program through their Career Services Office. If not, career counselors can be an enormous help in either helping you find a potential job shadowing opportunity or pointing you in the right direction. The alumni of your college may also know of businesses (either large or small) that offer job shadowing and government agencies often offer job shadowing programs for students. Dont be shy about going direct and reaching out to any organization that interest you to see if there is someone currently working in your car eer field of interest who would be interested in hosting a job shadower. Even its for a few days over the summer or during one of your college breaksthe experience would be helpful. How to Prepare for Your job Shadow Position You want to make sure you make a good first impression so be sure to check out the dress code beforehand. If youre in contact with your job shadow sponsor, dont hesitate to ask about theappropriate dress code for your department or team. Becausejob shadowing is similar to information interviewing, preparing a list of questions beforehand is essential to getting the most out of the experience. Once the shadowing experience is over, immediately send out a thank you note that highlights what you enjoyed (and learned) the most and express your gratitude to the job shadow sponsor who took the time to work with you. Job Shadowing for Career Changers Job shadowing can also be a good path for those in the process of changing careers. Not only can a job shadow pro vide more information than youll find online, it offers a first-hand look at the culture of the organization. The importance of a good cultural fit cant be underscored enough. In addition to possessing the relevant knowledge and skills to successfully completing a job, fitting in with the overall culture and getting along with team members is crucial to not only your success but happiness. Career changers possess a lot of transferable skills that they can bring to a new job. However, depending on the nature of the change, additional training or education may be required.

4 Benefits You Can Negotiate (and How to Do It!)

4 Benefits You Can Negotiate (and How to Do It)4 Benefits You Can Negotiate (and How to Do It) As you consider what you need most out of a new position, salary is an important component of your compensation picture - b ut its not the only factor. A guide published by Northwestern Mutual titled Changing Jobs? Top Financial Considerations Beyond Salary cites data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to solidify the claim Salary typically accounts for just 70 percent of an employees total compensation. Benefits make up the remaining 30 percent.When it comes to benefits, its important to have a clear sense of where you can negotiate. Ellen Kuntzmann, Director-Talent Acquisition for Integrity Staffing Solutions advises When speaking with a hiring manager you will want to understand what benefits can be negotiated vs. what is fixed. For example, smaller companies may not be able to adjust medical benefits but would be more likely to offer additional PTO. This is wher e you want to do your research and be clear on what youre after. Also, recognize what constitutes fixed benefits youre unlikely to negotiate your way into a program the company doesnt offer. So its probably not a good strategy to target transportation benefits if the company doesnt offer that. But you might be able to negotiate a bonus or higher base salary by touting your merit. You can then use that extra pay to underwrite your transportation expenses.Kuntzmann advises Things which are often negotiable may include work hours such as 410 hour days, span of control for your function or work location if you want to move to the corporate office or have family in a different branch that you may be supporting. Be sure to ask for any changes to benefits you are looking for in a concise, focused one-time request.Once you get agreement on one change or benefit, asking for additional may be perceived as not fully focused on what you want.A few other benefits you may want to consider negot iating for?One benefit that Kuntzmann notes may be worth pursuing is COBRA benefits . This is short-term healthcare that covers you and your family during transitional times. Kuntzmann points out If you are between jobs or are leaving your current job for a new role, you may ask for your cost of COBRA to be covered by your new employer until your medical benefits go live.Telecommuting can help foster fit for many employees. But some employers have not caught the wave. Maybe it doesnt suit their business model, or their leadership isnt open to it. Telecommuting can be a great job perk, but if youre targeting it as a key benefit for job fit, its in your best interest to learn whether or not your prospects are open to it. If you learn that its an option, Kuntzmann offers this advice for negotiating a telecommuting arrangement The key to remote work or telecommuting is to be specific - is it one day a week or one day a month?PTO is commonly negotiated as a means to better foster jo b fit. Kuntzmann explains PTO is what Im most often asked to negotiate. Some companies have ranges that they offer based upon tenure, and others may allow you to use time already allotted for a personal vacation thats already been paid for without utilizing paid time as part of your offer negotiation.Kuntzmann explains that if youre going after a particular benefit when you negotiate your salary, dont assume that you need to accept a lower base pay to negotiate that benefit. However, this might be true in the case of additional compensation. Kuntzmann explains Ive often negotiated higher bonus or higher stock for a candidate for a lower base pay. So if you find that the base pay offered is lower than what youd expected, it might make sense to negotiate for an additional bonus or stock. Remember - n egotiations are a collaboration, not a contest. I always appreciate creative requests,Kuntzmann says. When its time to negotiate, be prepared, be gracious and be confident - you can d o this

Resume tips for high-level positions in IT, finance and marketing

Resume tips for high-level positions in IT, finance and absatzwirtschaftResume tips for high-level positions in IT, finance and marketingCommon and equally important key things to remember for every type of executive resume consists of having a modern layout and design, including your current contact information, and listing a job target heading above the summary section.However, there are critical profession-specific considerations to keep in mind, depending on your specialty.Here are the top three executive resume types to give you a picture of how you should differentiate yourself accordingly.1.Information Technology resumeThe key difference in creating an effective Technology Leadership or Chief Information Officer (CIO) executive resume is to integrate menschenfreundlich capital management skills and fiscal acumen abilities alongside with technical hardware, software and cloud solutions throughout the resume. As an IT executive, you need to demonstrate how you can utilize human and technological resources to improve corporate profitability. Period. Here are 3 things to keep in mind as you tailor your resume for IT leadership opportunitiesPractice what you preachMake sure to include a website or social media links on your resume. IT executives who have little or no presence on the internet, or worse, a poor presence on the web, demonstrate that either they are not a lover of technology or that they are a poor promoter of themselves.Either one is badGravitate from tactical implementation to strategic perspectiveBe sure to showcase your corporate contributions to top-line, expense line items, workflow productivity andthe bottom line. Outline initiatives where you have added value and projects that you have led that achieved results. Include the long-range effects of your work in addition to the short-term results and show how you can strategize on the big picture and cause movement with what is directly in front of you.Use the right language, as appropriateYo u may be most comfortable speaking in technical acronyms or vernacular, but not all CEOs and executive hiring teams are aware of techspeak. Speak about technology in approachable terms to be understood by many types of executive management to demonstrate your ability to work with non-technical types in a subliminal manner. You can save your technical verbiage for your core competency section, where you can highlight skills such as Cloud Computing Integration, SIP-Based Architectures, Integration Optimization, Risk Assessments, etc.2. Financial Executive resumeSuccessful Finance Executives and Chief Financial Officers (CFO) use their resumes as marketing collateral to position themselves as engaging leaders that are ahead of the pack. Making your resume visually standout is the best way to make a strong initial first impression as an effective CFO. Harnessing the impact of visual impression, effective language and concrete fiscal achievements into a streamlined story told on a dynam ic branded resume can increase the opportunities to land that coveted position. Here are 3 key points to create an effective branded CFO resumeFocus on context Talking about your biggest achievement is not always best. For example, if you saved $15M on one initiative within a $200M employer, but now you are applying to a $20M firm, you may be perceived as being overqualified. Choose achievements that are within the fiscal scope of the prospective company, or consider using percentages to outline your accomplishments. Another tactic is to focus on downplaying or highlighting the size of regional budgets, weltweit budgets, business lines, or other business entity sizes to match the prospects.Downplay financial jargon Outline your financial and human capital achievements in universal language and not just financial jargon. Appeal to the many types of audiences by whom your resume will be read. You may be comfortable speaking in acronyms (such as ROI orDSOs), but not all CEOs and execut ive hiring teams are comprised of finance people. While they may understand the jargon, you want to speak about finance in approachable terms to be understood by many types of executive management. For example, consider changing phrases likereduced DSOs by 9 days to reduced accounts receivable by 14% and improved positive cash flow with tighter payment terms.Showcase soft skillsIts easy for finance executives to bury soft skills in strong financial achievements. but be careful about creating a resume with a high volume of numbers that readers will get lost in. We know you have impressive credentials and achievements, but dont let the metrics overshadow your human capital accomplishments. Make sure to include ways your leadership of human capital drove workflow productivity or improved company culture to also create revenue and profit for the business.3. Marketing Executive resumeAs a Chief Marketing Officer or Senior Marketing Executive, you need to show you are a market share acqui sition strategist for new and existing products and services. Demonstrate how you gain and sustain new client relationships. Prove you can expand and nurture existing key client relationships. Attract the high caliber talent that you can train and develop to do the same activities. Companies want marketers who are not only creative, but who emulate they understand the business of their marketing craft Here are 3 ways to show this on your resumeUse a contemporary layoutIts important to show that you understand the power of visual marketing. For example Are you saying you are a leading marketer but your resume layout is as current as a pair of neon green Madonna gloves? (Ok, those might be back in style for 14-year-olds, but should your resume be of thatretro-caliber? Absolutely not) Walk your talk by having your own personal marketing documents and marketing executive resume be as current as the ideas and toolsyou will bring to your new employer. You would wear a current styled suit for your interview, right? Make sure your resume reflects the same type of upkeep to land you the interview in the first place.Show success with blending traditional and progressive strategies Successfulmarketing executives have a grip on how to use traditional and progressive marketing strategies and tactics to reach niche audiences in a multitude of ways. They know they cannot do things as they once did only to generate great results. Todays marketing campaigns employ online, new media, and old-school tactics to generate new prospects and close new clients. While you do not have to be an expert at all types of marketing strategies and tools, you should write bullets that demonstrate how you implemented the precise resource at a moments notice to produce the desired results.Ability to attract talent and manage high-potential leaders Demonstrate in your resume how you have attracted top-tier talent and moved them up through the ranks of the organization or with expanded responsibili ty. Have you mentored high-potentials to their next leadership role? Explain how and what you do to attract, manage, mentor and cultivate new and retained talent with your organization. Your next employer will want to see how you will do it for their firm.To close, remember to create an effective executive resume, youll not only show how youve been able to make money, save money, or improve company processes and its position within its marketplace - which is true across industries, but you also want to make sure content on your resume, social media profiles, and communications are congruent with your personality, beliefs and work style, as well as appropriately tailored to your industry. Good luckLisa Rangelof Chameleon Resumes LLC,www.chameleonresumes.com, a Forbes Top 100 Career Website, is a 10-time Certified Resume Writer, Job Search Consultant Former Recruiter.