Posts Tagged: jobs
4 Ways to Be a More Confident Job Seeker
Posted in Career Advice Job Hunting on February 15, 2010 at 8:35 am
I’ll never forget what my driving instructor said to my mom while we were waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles the morning of my driver’s license test.
“She has the ability to pass. It’s going to come down to whether she thinks she can pass.”
I failed.
My driving instructor was exactly right. I had practiced enough and had the skills and knowledge to get my license. What I was missing was the confidence to actually do it.
I see this same situation all the time with college students and recent grads in the job market. They have the talent, skills and ability to get a job, but they lack the self-confidence it takes to land a position, especially in the ultra-competitive market we’re experiencing right now.
If you’re struggling with self-confidence, here are some tips:
1. Ask for feedback. Recruit a trusted relative, career services staff member, professor or friend to assess you honestly. Often we don’t even realize our strongest assets because they come naturally to us. Ask the person to list your best qualities and most impressive accomplishments. On the flip side, ask for constructive feedback on your weaknesses. Find out if the things you’re most concerned about — lack of experience, a less-than-desirable GPA, shyness, etc. — are legitimate concerns or if you’re obsessing over nothing. If your fears are unfounded, let them go once and for all!
2. Take action on any gaps. If you do determine some important weaknesses, develop a game plan for improving the key skills, knowledge or qualities you’ll need to land the job you want. Take action! Sign up for a coaching session at your career services office, register for an e-course, read a few instructional books or hire a career coach or tutor. Besides gaining the skills you need, you’ll have a great answer to the interview question, “What is your biggest weakness?” You’ll be able to say, “I identified a key weakness and here are the steps I took to overcome it.”
Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…
Tags: Career Advice, Job Hunting, jobs
On MyPath.com: An Interview with Two College Career Services Professionals
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College International Careers Recommended Resources on February 4, 2010 at 6:00 am
What are the major hiring trends on campus this year? What are the best strategies for finding an entry-level job? What are the biggest mistakes students make in the job search process?
To answer these questions and more, I spoke with with Trudy Steinfeld, Executive Director of the Wasserman Center for Career Development at New York University, and Manny Contomanolis, Associate Vice President and Director of Co-op and Career Services at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear top tips from two of the best career services professionals in the country!
Listen to the podcast interview now.
Tags: Career Advice, career services, jobs
Job hunting tips for the Class of ’09: Lindsey on CBS News
Posted in Career Advice Economic Crisis First Job Out of College Generation Y on March 19, 2009 at 9:21 am
Last night I was a guest on CBS News Up to the Minute with Michelle Gielan. We chatted about ways that college seniors can land jobs despite the recession. The main theme: take action every day and try a wide variety of tactics!
Click here to watch the 4-minute video
Tags: CBS News, jobs, Michelle Gielan
How to get free career advice from 50 top career advisers
Posted in Career Advice Job Hunting Networking Recommended Resources Social Media on February 4, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Could that headline possibly be overselling the content of this blog post?
Nope.
There is an easy, free — and fun — way to get free career advice (and much more) from some of the best career advisers in the country. It’s all happening on Twitter.
Willy Franzen, of One Day, One Job and Found Your Career, has put together an excellent list of “50 Twitter Users to Follow for Your Job Search.” I’m honored to be on the list and happy to see many of my favorite career bloggers, authors and speakers on the list as well. (If you’d like to follow me — and please do! — I’m @lindseypollak.)
All of the people on this list use their Twitter feeds to share career advice articles, job search tips, real job and internship opportunities, event announcements and much more. If you’re not on Twitter, you’re missing out on a tremendous amount of free and valuable information. (Yes, you’re also missing out on silly photos, descriptions of what people are eating for lunch and a fair amount of procrastination, but it’s easy to find the valuable content on Twitter. The rest makes it really fun.)
I’d also like to add a few additional Twitterers that I recommend, although I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch — will add in the comments when I remember.
Alexandra Levit (@alevit) – blogger and author of How’d You Score that Gig and The Don’t Teach Corporate in College
Chandlee Bryan (@chandlee) – career coach, resume writer and blogger
Diane K. Danielson (@DowntownWoman) – CEO of the Downtown Women’s Club and blogger at The Women’s Dish
Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki) – one of the most popular Tweeters, who often posts links to articles on making the best use of Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media
Please share your favorite career-related tweeters in the Comments section below, and be sure to check out Willy Franzen’s list — you won’t regret it!
Tags: Career Advice, employment, jobs, Twitter
Your career questions answered
Posted in Career Q&A on January 7, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Each month I’ll be answering reader questions over at ABC News on Campus. This month’s Q&A includes issues such as job hunting in a recession, job hunting in a new city, finding finance positions and assessing the value of internships.
Click here to read the entire Career Q&A…
Click here to submit a question of your own
Tags: Career Advice, Economic Crisis, employment, Generation Y, jobs, recession
Find your dream job: 12 career resolutions for 2009
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y Job Hunting Social Media on December 28, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Reminder: I’m now answering job search and career questions as Career Contributor for ABC News on Campus. Submit your question here.
Every day is a new beginning, but a new calendar year offers a particularly great opportunity for fresh starts. This year more than ever, career-minded people are craving new opportunities and new strategies to carry out in January and beyond.
As you think about your plans and goals for 2009, here are 12 career-related resolutions to consider adding to your list.
1. I will do one thing every day to find a job or advance my career. Spend some time every day, even just five minutes, researching potential employers, reading advice articles, following up with people you’ve met, practicing for interviews or doing anything else to help your career prospects. Keep moving forward. Momentum matters.
2. I will update my resume once a month. Especially in an economic downturn, your resume needs to be ready to send at a moment’s notice. Make a note in your calendar to review this important document once a month to be sure it sells your skills and experience in the best possible way.
3. I will regularly review my online presence. While you’re keeping your resume up-to-date, review your online professional presence as well. Google your own name and make sure the results reflect the image you want to project. Many organizations are now relying on social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook for recruiting, so it’s quite likely your next employer will review your online profile before seeing your official resume.
Bright spots in the bad economy: 5 places to look for jobs right now
Posted in Career Advice Economic Crisis Generation Y International Careers Recommended Resources Uncategorized on December 7, 2008 at 2:40 pm
There’s no doubt the big career story of the moment is the November unemployment report, which stated that the U.S. experienced the biggest monthly job loss since 1974. In total, we’ve lost over 2 million jobs in the past year. This is, obviously, very bad news for job seekers (although, according to Fortune magazine, slightly less bad for those with a college degree — hat tip Keppie Careers).
I believe that constant news about the bad economy leaves job seekers with two choices: 1) focus on how bad the job market is and feel paralyzed, or 2) understand that it’s bad and look for opportunities anyway.
I’m going to recommend door #2. To help, I spent some time this past weekend looking for bright spots in the bleak job market. It wasn’t easy; there’s a lot of terrible news out there. But there are definitely opportunities in this recession.
Here are five of them: (more…)
Tags: Career Advice, Economic Crisis, employment, Generation Y, jobs, recession
