Job Hunting Tips - Efficient Job Search Strategies

Job hunting is more competitive than it has been in years. The present economy means that there are countless newly-unemployed people looking for the same jobs you are. Therefore it is more important than ever to know everything you can about job hunting skills.

Make sure everyone you know is aware that you are looking for a new job. Most jobs are never advertised and therefore if you are searching only in newspapers and online job sites, you are missing a lot of opportunities. Utilize social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to get it out there that you are looking for work. Just remember to use social networking wisely. Anything and everything that you put on the web is something that a potential employer can see. Therefore, choose wisely before you share too much in cyberspace.

Research companies in your area and check their websites. Jobs may be listed there that are not listed elsewhere. If you are interested in working for a particular firm, call them, send them your resume and follow it up with a phone call. Get the name of a contact person to speak with there.

Create a sensational resume, having spent a great deal of time on it. Have it proofread and critiqued by several people. Remember to tailor it to every job you apply on. It will make a huge difference in getting interviews, as the resume typically makes the very first impression that someone has of you. Grab them with a great "Career Objective" that is perfectly tied to the job you are seeking. Use resume buzz words and terms from their job description throughout the resume and cover letter to help cinch the fact that you are the perfect fit for the job.

Write thank you notes after a job interview. This is a crucial step that many people skip. Doing this one thing can make the difference between choosing you or someone else for the job. Be prompt with the note; send it the same day as the interview. Send thank you notes individually to all those who interviewed you. Reiterate your desire to work at the firm, your suitability for the job, add anything you may have forgotten to mention and above all, thank the interviewer for their time and the opportunity.

Prepare well for interviews. Learn everything you can about the company you are being interviewed for. Prior to the interview have intelligent questions formulated that show that you have knowledge of the company, because the interviewer will always ask if you have any questions. Practice the answers to typical interview questions. Write out the answers and rehearse them, so that you feel comfortable answering them during the stress of the interview. Have impeccable grooming and dress your best for the interview. Remember that first impressions are made in the first seconds you meet someone, so put your best foot forward, radiate confidence and offer a firm handshake to create the best impression possible.

Treat the job hunt like you would a job. Start early in the day and keep going until the end of the workday. Dress like you are going to work, or even better. Do not sink into the trap of depression because you are job hunting. Strive to do your best at job hunting, because that is your job if you are out of work.

By working hard and putting the required effort into your job hunt, you can be confident in the fact that you are doing all you possibly can to find a job. Be patient and use your imagination as you seek opportunities. Before you know it, you'll find the perfect job just for you.

Jason Kay

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3 Job Hunting Tips for Fast Results

Job hunting? Believe it or not, you already have a job. Job

hunting is your job. At least it is if you want to find a job,

find it quickly, and have it be a job you want. So how do you

make your job hunt work for you?

Quality Resume

An effective job hunt begins with an effective resume. Your resume

isn't something you should gloss over or whip up quickly. The

quality of your resume will make or break you.

Spend a lot of time

on writing your resume, polish it, and make it as good as it can

possibly be. You may even want to consider hiring a professional

resume writer to put together your resume for you.

Make sure to check your resume for mistakes. In fact, have a few

other people you trust to proofread it for you as well. You just

can not have typos or spelling mistakes in your resume.

If you can't keep those out of one page of information that you need to

get a job interview, how are you going to perform on the job?

That's what your potential employer is going to wonder.

Avoid Interview Mistakes

In a survey done by a staffing firm with 1,400 chief financial officers,

it was concluded that most job candidates made their crucial mistakes

during the interviews. The top mistakes included:

* Arriving Late

* Not being familiar with the company

* Not knowing anything about the particular position you are interviewing

for

* Acting arrogantly

* Poor body language

Avoid these types of mistakes in the interview and your job hunt will

be way ahead of most of your competition.

Answer Questions Confidently and Smartly

Most interviewees are nervous in an interview. This is because they

are unprepared by not knowing the company or the job position. This

leads to nervousness that causes them to fumble even the questions

that they know. Thus, they blow an interview for a job that they are

perfectly qualified to do.

If you don't know an answer to a question, be honest and say so. And

then say you may not know the answer, you can get the answer.

If you know the company and the position, you'll be able to talk about

your strengths that match the companies.

If you can follow these three job hunting tips you'll be well on your way

to an effective and successfully completed job search.

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Job Search Tips - Group Job Hunting

So you just graduated college finally and are looking for your first real entry-level job. How should you go about your job hunt? Just sit home and click away at the "submit resume" button all day? Stop what you're doing! Find out what are the real keys to job hunting as a new grad in this economy and improve your chances out there!

1. Consistency

Ever hear the phrase "looking for a job is a job itself"? That holds true for many people. If you want to be successful in your job search, you must have a certain job hunt process you go through every day and you must carry it out, every day consistently. Now for college grads this shouldn't be anything new; studying in college showed you that consistency brought results. Were you more confident going into a test studying at the last minute, or reviewing content every week? Here's a little example below of a job hunt process:

o You wake up and apply for jobs online you see posted (job boards, job aggregators, corporate sites)

o Spend a few hours reading articles on how to brush up your job interview skills, how to

improve your resume. Maybe even do a mock interview with your family or friend.

o Later you spend an hour or so trying to figure out who you can network with (who do my friends

know? Who does my family know? What about online networking sites like LinkedIn, who should I contact locally?).

This is just a small example, and by no means should you manage your time particularly like this - but what's important is the fact that these are steps. You must be consistent and keep at what you are doing. If you don't stay consistent during your job hunt, what happens is you see no results.

For example, say you start networking on Monday and apply to jobs, and then don't follow up on networking the next few days and focus just on your resume. A week passes by, and you totally forgot about replying back to the people you networked with. Those people may now think you're unorganized and already you lose any value you could present to them as an acquaintance. You have to stay consistent with what you do as a job seeker; show those people you're on top of things and are eager to find work.

2. Focus

What is the particular job position you are looking for? What industry? Fresh graduates have a lot of trouble with this one, partly because many are not even 100% sure what job they want. Once again, coming out of College, you have experience with this: you spent 4 years trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, what to major in, so this is just another thing you have to figure out.

Two things College grads should focus on:

1. What is the job position you really want?

2. What industry do you want to work in? What companies do you find attractive?

We are in a recession and you'll be told not to be picky, but believe it or not, sending out 50 resumes every day to 50 different jobs at 50 different companies in totally different industries will not yield the best results for your job search.

So what happens if you focus on a job and industry?

Job position: Take a look over at your resume, what duties have you performed that could be applicable to an entry-level job that you like? Fast-forward to an HR manager reading your resume, they'll see your job duties are similar to the ones advertised in this new job opening, and you look like promising candidate now. Match your skills and strengths to particular job types as well.

Industry/Company: Get involved in an industry you're passionate about. Join clubs and organizations and read their newsletters, magazines, and books. Most importantly keep up with the trends in the industry. Why? Let's say you are networking with a particular person who works for a company in the entertainment industry and bring up in the conversation some trends you noticed or predictions you have. What will happen immediately is that person will be impressed that not only have you done your research as a college graduate, but you have a strong passion for that industry and it shows! Passion truly does give you motivation, and motivation is a recipe for success when you are working so remember that.

3. Change

People change, job duties change, the economy changes, so why shouldn't your job search strategies? Set a "Point of Review" - this could be every week, two weeks, or even every month or two (we don't suggest waiting too long).

During your Point of Review you should analyze 3 things:

1. What are your results so far? Write them down; 1 interview? 2 leads you got through networking?

2. What approach did you take that lead to those results? Did you talk about the industry trends with the person you were networking with? Did you leave out the "Career Objective" in your resume?

3. What are you going to change this time around?

During your job search (especially as a new grad) it is difficult to understand the cause and effect relationship of things you do, but sometimes some things are quite obvious. A small tweak in your resume's language can make a huge impact. Similarly, a simple change in your body language when you go to networking events can make a huge difference. For example, take note of how you acted; were you talking too long during the interview? Did you interrupt the interviewer a few times perhaps?

What you should do is try to use your "observing ego" - this is when you essentially observe what you say and how you act, and the results that come with that. Remember how you went about things and think of what you can change - little things of course, we're not saying you should go to your next networking event in your Halloween costume (although that would be very entertaining for the rest of us).

So that's it, consistency, focus, and change. These are basic principles that bring great results so use them to your advantage.

Good luck on your job hunt new grads!

Kevin Cormac

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Job Hunting - Basic Tips For Job Hunters

Take a look around and you will see that most people think nothing of changing jobs at the drop of a hat! Each one is interested in going where the money beckons! The result is that job hunting has become an industry by itself today!

Why do I call it an industry? Some people have realized that these job hunters require help and have come up with the perfect resources. There are entire books and web sites that offer expert advice regarding a great variety of professions and career options. Social groups provide personal counseling. TV has become a great medium to advertise jobs as well as have programs on careers. The radio is not far behind! Whatever be the resource, contact information is provided too.

Some career development professionals have made it their business to stick to a certain area of expertise only, where job hunting is concerned. For instance, some of them find another form of gainful employment for those workers who have been laid off at their previous jobs. Others aid those people who have constrained themselves to the house for 10 years or even more, and then discover that they need to go back to work once again. Basically, these experts take care of the special needs of each individual.

Of course, with the emergence of the Internet, job hunting has taken on a new meaning! There are many advantages to be gained from browsing the Net. One gets a bird's eye view of all the jobs that are advertised out there. So finding a match becomes easier, and right from the comfort of one's living room! There are no time constraints involved in job hunting here, even midnight is okay! The best part of the whole thing is, you are "seen" by everyone, everywhere!

Before uploading a resume, it would be wise to do some research on the company and position being applied for. What are the employers like? What is the professional background of the company? What do past/current employees feel about the management and the company itself? Pay and perks offered? These are just a few basic questions which come to mind; there could be many more. The answers to these questions can help the job hunter to narrow down his/her choice of preferences.

There are other aspects to job hunting too. It may be a fresh college graduate or it may be someone who has gone through a number of jobs already, but each one finds job hunting a strain. It is not just a question of sending a resume (even a resume has to be written out properly); there are other skills that are required, such as personal grooming and demeanor, facing an interview, and so on. Hence, quite a few employment services and schools have come up, offering to train the individual in developing these skills.

To conclude, job hunting does bring on a lot of stress, especially if quick results are not to be seen. It hurts that so much of searching has come to naught. One has to have a lot of patience for the right job to come along. Also, to put everything in a realistic perspective, there is nothing wrong in working one's way up from the bottom of the ladder if top positions are not immediately available. Maybe one could spend less time on brooding, and instead concentrate on developing a different set of skills or some kind of useful activity till an excellent job shows up

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My 10 Top Job Hunting Tips

Looking for a job is frustrating, depressing and seems like an endless cycle with little that is positive. This is especially true if your main job hunting tactic is "Click and Apply".

You know the one, everyday, checking out the different job boards, finding a job you are suitable for and then clicking on the link and applying for the job. Wondering why you are not getting called.

And in fact you do know why, you are one of the thousands of other people doing the same thing. The reality is that the chances of getting a job with the "Click and Apply" tactic ranges from poor to useless.

The best way to get a job is to be in front of an employer before they post the job, to be in front of the employer when they say to their staff, "Do you know anybody that can fill this job?".

Here is my list of top 10 Job Hunting Tactics:

1. Have a list of the top 20 companies you want to work for. This doesn't mean limit your job hunt to these 20 companies, it means focus on this this list as your starting point. The focus will bring other opportunities to you. Make sure you know everything about these companies, Where they are growing, Where they are experiencing problems, Who their top 3 competitors are, Which recruiters they use, Where they have offices. Become an expert in these companies.

2. Know 12 problems that you can solve in your 20 companies that increases sales or saves the company money. Companies hire people to solve business problems. If you know the problems you can solve, and how, then the you will be the person being hired.

3. Know your three strengths. Yes, I know you can do many different things. But, there are three things you can do better than anybody else you know. Know what they are, know how well you do them. Using these three strengths are how you solve the 12 problems.

4. Create a cover letter and resume for each of the 12 problems you can solve. These cover letters and resumes must demonstrate how you will solve the business problems. For every job opportunity that you discover, you will modify one of the 12 cover letters and resumes for the company.

5. Write a White Paper that clearly demonstrates your knowledge of a topic . Use the white paper as a way of marketing yourself. The last page will be a brief summary of your experience. Have a different white paper for each of the twelve problems.

6. Have a dollar budget to spend on getting a job. Getting a job is a marketing problem, nobody starts a marketing program without a budget. Decide how much money you are going to spend getting a job. The budget can include clothing, a website, job hunt training, getting your resume reviewed, and business cards, . The amount for each each item should be equivalent to how many days you can expect the item to save in finding a job. For example, if you need help creating a resume, and you feel a good resume will shorten your job hunt by a week, then the template can be budgeted at less than a week's pay and you have make money on the investment.

7. Have a detailed plan for getting a job. Create a detailed plan of all the things your are going to do to get a job. Assign milestones and deliverables for each of the tasks. Set a date when each milestone will be completed. Finding a job is not one single thing, its a combination of many different things. Serious job hunting takes at least 40 hours a week.

8. Schedule 10 job information meetings a week. This is two each and every day. They can be on the phone or in person. The better ones will be more effective in person. Your goal is to know what is going on. You need to find out what people are doing. You need to know what is working and what isn't working. The best way to by talking to people. When you talk to people they get to meet you and feel comfortable with you.

9. Have a powerful LinkedIn.com profile that sells you . The profile is not your resume online, it includes your LinkedIn Answers and questions, who and how you recommend, and the size and depth of your network.

10. Each day find a new job hunt tactic. Not every tactic works for every person in every situation. But, if you keep finding new tactics each weekday, and two work for you, then at the end of the month you have 8 more tactics beyond "Click and Apply". Each new job hunt tactic you use, shortens the time before you start your new job.

I hope this was helpful and will move you farther along in your job hunt.

Take Care and good luck on your job hunt.

Zale

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Young Professionals - Can You Handle the Truth? 10 Tips About Careers (That Nobody Ever Tells You)

Steve Young is a very accomplished athlete who has extended his relevance in the game football by making a career out of being a popular on air television personality for the ESPN network. While a younger generation of football fans may be most familiar with Young for his current work as a commentator on ESPN Monday Night Football post game shows fans old enough to remember his playing days know that he was truly something special on the gridiron. Long before Steve Young became a Super Bowl MVP in 1995 with the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL he was a prominent player for the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and later a poster boy for the upstart USFL spearheaded by Donald Trump to compete with the NFL.

After being dubbed a high school athletic prodigy out of Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut Steve Young, a three sport star in high school (football, basketball, and baseball), moved across the country to continue his football career at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Young who was initially considered a run first and throw second type of quarterback worked hard to overcome his shortcomings at passing the ball. Young, who played quarterback for an option run style offense in high school, eventually made his weakness his strength to the point that by his senior season he set an NCAA single season record by completing 71.3% of his throws.

The First Team All-American quarterback at BYU led an explosive offense that thanks to efficient quarterback play established a new NCAA record for total offense as the squad averaged 584.2 yards per game while racking up an 11-1 record. Despite finishing second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy to running back Mike Rozier of Nebraska Steve Young did receive other noteworthy accolades including the Davey O'Brien Award given annually to the best quarterback. Young completed his college career in style by tossing the game winning touchdown in a Holiday Bowl win against the University of Missouri in 1983. The pass that gave BYU the 21-17 win was the tail end of a trick flea flicker play. Young would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

The upstart USFL (United States Football League) was just getting off the ground when Young was prepared to turn pro in 1984. While the established NFL still seemed like the direction the game would head for the long term the USFL was successfully picking off star players to join their league and Steve Young was amongst the young talent that was lured by lucrative contracts to suit up for the less established brand. Young signed what was at the time considered an extremely lucrative deal in the form of a $40 million annuity contract in exchange for agreeing to play for the Los Angeles Express for ten years.

The career Steve Young had in the USFL was shorter than scheduled as a result of the owner of the team he played for going bankrupt in Young's second season. Financial debacles caused embarrassing lapses in the integrity of the league including bus drivers refusing to drive teams to games after paychecks bounced and players simply not showing up. Interestingly, due to the structure of the original contract that Steve Young agreed to he is still being paid from that original contract and will continue to be every year through 2027. Due to the annuity nature of the original $40 million contract Young was scheduled to be paid $1 million a year for 40 years. Even though the now defunct league officially shut down in 1986 litigation proved successful in eventually guaranteeing that Young be paid the annuity value he was promised.

Steve Young would go on to sign with an abysmal Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in the NFL and suffer a 3-16 record as a starter over two seasons before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers were he was mentored by the great Joe Montana while serving as his backup. Young went on to have a prolific NFL career despite wasted time in the USFL and with the Buccaneers. Looking back on the NFL success of Steve Young the two-time MVP who has the record for highest passing rating to go along with a Super Bowl ring is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the history of the game. In 2005 Young was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Sam

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Career Tips for College Grads - Tips for Shining at Your Next In-Person Networking Event

What should you know before attending your first career fair or in-person networking event? What skills should you brush up on? How can you make this experience more than just drifting from table to table, grabbing fliers and feeling lost? Here are some tips for young career seekers on how to stay on top of your career networking game...

Prep your resume.

Your resume should clearly state a career objective. And - every detail that you include such as education, skills, computer proficiencies, and career history should support that career objective. An example: let's say you're running out of room on your resume. You're not sure whether to include the unpaid internship or talk about the summer camp job you had. If the unpaid internship is more relevant than the summer camp job to the position you're trying for, then include that and save the summer camp gig for when you talk in person.

Next, move your education to the bottom of your resume. Prospective employers don't care as much about where you went to school as they do about the relevant experience that you have related to the potential job. Finally, proofread and print on resume-quality parchment paper. Bring a folder full of copies to pass out at in-person networking events.

Prepare your one-liner.

Some people call this an elevator speech. It's a brief synopsis of what you want to achieve in your career, or your specialty - what you do best. They call it this because you should be able to convey the entire message in the length of time it takes to ride an elevator. Practice your elevator speech on family members and friends until it rolls off your tongue really easily. This is what you'll say to people who ask you what you do or what you're interested in doing.

When you meet someone, make eye contact and smile.

Eye contact lets people know you're approachable. Make a good first impression by looking someone in the eye and speaking up with confidence. Shake their hand firmly (no "dead fish" handshakes), and look them in the eye while you're doing so. Show those pearly whites!

Networking is still a great way to find a job. By "networking," of course I mean getting out there in a professional sense. Make it so that your name gets brought up because you know someone who knows someone in the biz. That's the best way that I know of for finding a job you love.

Copyright 2007 Hallie Crawford and Authentically Speaking. All rights reserved.

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Online Networking Tips For Your Young Career Seeker

Searching for a job can be an intimidating process! It can be especially so for that young adult straddling the in-between place of college and the 'real-world.' And if your young adult is particularly shy or reserved, that can pile on the stress to an already daunting process. However, today's reticent job seekers have an advantage from when you first entered the job market... online networking.

The web is a perfect place for your son or daughter to meet professionals searching for the right brand of talent. To help your adult child leverage their online networking effort, offer these suggestions:

Participate regularly.

Have your son or daughter log on often and continuously to get their name out there and become familiar with the hot topics in their field. In addition, while your young adult may be somewhat new to the industry, offering help to others can be a big boost to their career. Encourage them to share what they know. It can also help land them a mentor in the field who can provide contacts and professional experience - which can be extremely helpful in their career search.

Be willing to learn new things - from both beginners and seasoned professionals.

As a young adult, your son or daughter is probably more computer savvy than some of the seasoned professionals who entered the job market without today's new technological skills. Your son or daughter may, therefore, gravitate toward aligning themselves online with other like-minded or similarly-aged contacts. But encourage them to branch out, and learn from the older set that may have a better grasp on how to manage the career game.

Use blogging to become better acquainted with their industry.

Parents are sometimes skeptical of encouraging young adults to become too immersed in various computer practices, particularly if they themselves are not familiar with the techniques. But as blogging continues to grow in credibility and popularity, it is a valuable source of getting your son or daughter's name out there in the right circles. Particularly if your son or daughter likes to write, you can encourage them to start their own blog as a means of making a name for themselves. Or encourage them to become active participants in other blogs; even large companies today have functional regularly updated blogs. Consider blogging similar to passing out business cards; yet in a more meaningful and intellectually intimate way. Blogging also allows your young adult to learn about their field even after college and to keep them abreast of new ideas and developments in their industry.

Hallie Crawford

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Online Networking Tips for Young Career Opportunists

In addition to in-person networking events, the web is the perfect place to meet professionals who are searching for your brand of talent. If you're nervous about networking, don't be. The internet is a great ice breaker and way for "shy networkers" to ease in slowly and get to know people over time. You can really make some strong professional bonds if you do it right. Here are some tips for leveraging your online networking effort:

Participate on a regular basis.

You may be young, but if you have skills then you're just as valuable as anyone else who you may meet online... and in some cases, maybe even more so. As a newbie to the professional world, you're in a great position to find a mentor who can bring you into their circle and get you some needed contacts and professional experience. So jump in, be curious, talk to people, ask questions! Log in on a regular basis and just put it out there. Offering help to others can be a big boost to your career - so share what you know.

Be open to both young and old; be willing to learn new things.

Young people tend to be more skilled in the areas of computers and technology than the older generation. Sometimes it can seem tedious to have to explain things, or maybe you feel impatient, wanting them to get to the point. Even so, your talents are well matched to someone older who knows how to play the career game. Make it a practice to be friendly toward everyone, even the old salts who seem set in their ways. You have much to learn from each other.

Use blogging to become even more immersed and connected in your field.

Blogging continues to grow in popularity... big companies have jumped on board, but even so the blogosphere is still a level playing field for young career mavericks. If you like to write, consider starting a blog as a means of making a name for yourself. Identify yourself as someone interested in and knowledgeable about your field. Or, make comments on someone else's blog. Blogging is like passing out business cards... but instead, you're passing around ideas, inviting people to get to know you in a much more intellectually intimate way. Blogging also helps you keep learning about your field after college, and staying abreast of recent trends and developments. It will put you in touch with the important people in your field - and you never know - you may just land a job as a result!

Copyright 2007 Hallie Crawford and Authentically Speaking. All rights reserved.

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Four Reasons to Revise Your Resume

by Caroline Levchuck, Yahoo! HotJobs


For some folks, updating a resume is as much fun as getting a tooth pulled. But keeping your resume current is only painful when you haven't done it for a very long time. If you view a resume as a constant work in progress, updating it frequently will be a pain-free process. Still not convinced? Here are four reasons why you should revise your resume today.

The "Crazy" Trap Lurks

Remember the definition of "crazy": doing the same thing over and over yet hoping for a different result. If you're sending out the same resume over and over yet not getting any response from employers, your resume needs help. Revise it to enjoy different results.

Nothing Stays the Same

Even if you've held the same job for the past three years, your resume shouldn't look the same as it did three years ago. If your responsibilities at your job have remained static, perhaps the technology you use to do it has not. Indicate that on your resume. If nothing truly has changed at all, it may be time to take on some new responsibilities or learn new skills.

Do You Know Where You're Going to?

Your resume is a road map of where you've been -- and it's a good indicator of where you're headed. Updating it frequently will help you remain connected to what's on the map and where you are in your career. This awareness will help you determine what new experience or skills you'll need to wind up at your dream destination.

Snooze, and You Lose

When opportunity knocks, you need to be ready to respond at a moment's notice. There's no better way to introduce a careless error into your resume than by updating it at the last minute. Revise it now, and take your time. Don't ruin your chance to impress a potential employer because your resume isn't current.

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Managers' Tips for Evaluating Employees

by Margaret Steen, Yahoo! HotJobs


The No. 1 piece of advice for managers getting ready for their employees' performance reviews? Allow plenty of time.

"Everybody hates it. Nobody really wants to" prepare their workers' reviews, says Diane Foster, principal of executive coaching and consulting firm Diane Foster & Associates in Alameda, Calif. But there's a price to pay for managers who breeze through the preparations, then just try to make it through the employee meetings without hurting anyone's feelings. "Too many people leave the performance review without having a solid understanding of what the boss really wants."

Helping your employees do their jobs better is one of the most important parts of a manager's job. So it's critical to think through not only what you're going to say to your employees, but how you're going to say it.

Experts offer these tips for not only getting through your performance reviews, but making them useful for you and your employees.

* Talk about the performance, not the person. Instead of saying, "You're not doing your job," say "Your performance is not up to standards," suggests Meryl Runion, author of "How to Say It Performance Reviews."

* Be specific. This is easiest for measurable goals: You were expected to sell 100 pairs of shoes but you only sold 80.

Carol Gegner, principal of Executive Coaching and Consulting Systems in Walnut Creek, California, adds that it's important to explain how the poor performance is affecting the organization. "Then you need to be able to describe the change that you'd like to see," Gegner says.

And it's just as important to be specific about what your employees are doing right, says Runion. "Don't just say, 'Great job.' Say, 'Great job. Here's an example of a time when we knew we could count on you,'" Runion says.

* Review your employee evaluations with your own manager before you deliver them. At many companies, this is required. But even if it isn't, it's a good idea to make sure your own biases haven't influenced your ratings. "We all have individual personalities," says Glenn Shepard, a management consultant and owner of Glenn Shepard Seminars. "We sometimes are not as objective as we should be."

* Watch out for what Shepard calls "recency bias." If you do performance reviews once a year, you're most likely to focus on what the employee did in the month or two before the review. This can lead to a bad review for a worker who had a good year with one problematic project at the end -- or a better-than-deserved review for someone who started working hard only when review time was approaching.

* Focus on a few key messages for your employee, rather than a laundry list of accomplishments and problems. "If you don't prioritize, the problem is that the listener may be overloaded and miss the most important points," Foster says.

* Make performance management a year-round process. "Someone who's good should know they're going to get a good review, and someone who's awful should know they're going to get an awful review," Shepard says. "If it's really a surprise, that screams poor management."

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Take Financial Stock Before a Job Change

by Tom Musbach, Yahoo! HotJobs


Any decision to change jobs has financial ramifications. Whether you're making a switch to get more responsibility, more enjoyment, or more freedom, you have to consider money, among other factors.

Basic financial planning will benefit you whether you're switching employers or careers, going back to school to learn new professional skills, or branching out to be your own boss. After reading the tips below, you may also want to contact a certified financial planner to help you tailor your transition strategy.

The Financial Cushion

Financial reserves are a must for anyone who's making a career transition. You should have enough money available to cover all your living expenses during the transition period.

"We advise most clients to maintain a cash cushion of six months," says Micah Porter, president of the Minerva Planning Group in Atlanta. "If you're making a career transition, you'll need to increase the amount of cushion you have if the transition will involve going without a salary while searching for a job."

If you're starting your own business or consulting firm, many financial planners recommend you set aside two years' worth of living expenses, according to the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

Edward Jones, a St. Louis-based company that recruits self-motivated professionals to run their own businesses as investment representatives, offers similar advice for its candidates.

"At Edward Jones, our investment representatives have the opportunity to earn significant income once they build up a strong client base, which typically occurs after the first year or two," says Price Woodward, the principal responsible for recruiting and hiring investment representatives at Edward Jones. "The training compensation and guaranteed payments for the first year in business may require candidates to reduce their standard of living or use money out of savings or rely on a spouse or partner's income in order to maintain their lifestyle during the first few years of being an investment representative."

Necessary Coverage

Before you transition, make sure that you have adequate insurance coverage. If you have health insurance with your current employer, consider continuing that coverage through COBRA. You can also investigate private regular coverage, which can be more affordable if you're single, or you could switch to be part of a spouse's health plan.

Pay attention to any possible retirement benefits or accounts you may have, such as a 401(k). To avoid being taxed, make sure you roll over your 401(k) into an IRA account or a similar retirement savings plan with a new employer.

Loans and Taxes

If you're training for a new career, a student loan can prevent education costs from depleting your cash reserves.

"You don't want concerns about finances detracting from your studies," says Porter. "I would tend to take out a bit more than I thought I might need, with two caveats:

* Average starting salaries in your new career should allow you to repay the loan over time with relative ease.
* The loan should be via an official student loan program, and offer the low interest rates normally associated with those programs."

Paying income tax is another financial matter that you should consider before making a job transition, according to Shannon Wentworth, a marketing consultant and writer based in Oakland, California. This is especially true for people who work for themselves after having worked full-time for an employer who routinely deducted taxes from paychecks.

"Save all your receipts and plan for paying your own taxes," she said.

The Payoff

Wentworth started her consulting business in early 2006 after leaving a corporate marketing job, and she says she's had "a lot of fun" being her own boss.

"I travel more, exercise more, read more, sleep more, and make more money," she says. "I've also at times worked more. It's harder to say 'no' to work when you don't have a steady 9-to-5 job."

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