2. Starting Out / Staying Ahead
How to acquire a job/career.
- An active approach is best.
- The Resume.
Developing your career.
- Holding onto your job.
- Focus on career development opportunities.
- Manage your career.
3. How to acquire a job/career.
Be active – A career won’t just come to you.
Set your goals. You can’t arrive unless you know
where you are heading. Without a goal you have
nothing to measure yourself against.
Determine likely careers that will meet your goals,
don’t confuse a job for a career. Avoid an
accidental career.
Develop a search strategy.
Implement.
4. The Resume.
What is a resume and what will it do for you?
- Short and simple is best.
Always send with an customised cover letter.
- Be polite and write with humility.
- Respond to the selection criteria.
- Again keep it short and simple.
5. What is a resume and what will it
do for you?
It provides context and showcases your
skills/qualifications and experience.
It enables potential employers to match their
requirements against what you have to offer.
You have about thirty seconds to catch the eye
of the recruiter - so keep it short and simple.
Take care to match your resume with the type
of role your seeking.
7. Personal Details
John J Citizen
Address: 10 Loery St
Mont Albert, Victoria 3167
Telephone: 03 9123 4567
0434 567 890
Email: john@ready.com.au
Date of Birth: 22/11/64 (optional)
Other details as considered appropriate:
Education: Tertiary
Secondary
Other Training courses,
computer skills, languages,
etc.
Affiliations: AIFST, AIP.
Interests: Cyclist and car maintenance.
8. Employment:
May 2012 - present
Titanic Removals
Oarsperson
Responsible for relocation of staff and customers from potential danger.
Achievements:
•Relocated sixty personnel to safety with no loss of life.
•Delivered two babies under difficult conditions.
April 2011 - April 2012
Hillsdale College
Rowing Coach
Responsible for training College pupils in competitive rowing
techniques.
Achievements:
•Coached coxless sevens to championship level.
•Reduced training costs by 20% pa.
9. You may also like to list other information on the final
page.
For example:
• A list of your strengths, special skills or attributes,
particularly those relevant to the position applied for.
• A list of referees.
10. Cover letters.
Why do you need one?
Because it:
- Conveys intent.
- Allows you to match position criteria with your
own qualifications and experience.
- Gives you an opportunity to impress with
your ability to write a succinct and to the point
letter.
11. Example of a Cover letter
An example of a not so good cover letter:
Online Cover Letter
I have extensive experience in the field of food
technology in New Zealand and Australia. I have also
got a Masters degree in Food Science and I reckon I
am the right candidate for this position. I look
forward to discussing in detail about my work history
and qualifications with you in the near future.
Thank you for your time and anticipating your
response.
12. Example of a Cover letter
To Mr. James Marshall,
RE: WINE ADVISOR - SALES
I would like to express my interest in the position as advertised above.
I have 9 years experience in a hospitality background at managerial level and more recently a
training role within a Industry Training Organisation.
I hold a huge passion for wine and have worked with it for a long time. I understand the
requirements of different businesses when it comes to developing wine lists to ensure it matches the
requirements of their establishments from season to season.
Furthermore, I am looking for a break in the Sales Industry and believe I possess the correct skill set
to be successful in such a role.
I am approachable, friendly, fun and outgoing. My work ethic is impeccable and my communication
skills are excellent.
I am a driven individual, and work hard to meet targets.
If you feel that my skill set could be utilised within your company, I would love to hear from you.
Kind Regards,
13. Developing your career
Holding onto your job.
Manage your career.
Focus on development opportunities.
14. Holding onto your current job.
If you have a job, then ask yourself three questions:
- Will my job be needed in five years time?
- Will my current skills still be needed in five years time?
- Do I want to do the same job in five years time?
If you answer no to any of these questions then you really
ought to consider Active Career Management.
Another question to pose is:
- What would I rather be doing and what is stopping
me doing it?
15. The solution is:
Constant development.
- Just as companies can no longer rest on their
laurels, neither can employees. Long gone is the
idea of life-time employment.
Career Management is the process whereby the
individual takes responsibility for the development
of their own career. No-one else cares as much as
you do.
16. The process may include:
The setting of career goals.
A personal stock-take to determine current skills,
experience and qualifications. Do a SWOT.
Mapping of the steps necessary in order to achieve
these goals, including specific skills and experience.
Determining the need for additional experience,
training and/or academic qualifications.
A broad brush plan that will act as a guide to
acquiring those skills, experience and qualifications
necessary in order to achieve the desired goal(s).
17. The alternative to Career
Management is:
At best - A career that “just happens”.
- But you are not in control.
- Other people decide for you.
At worst - Stagnation, a career going nowhere.
- Perhaps even depreciation as an organisational
asset.
- Heading towards redundancy?
Do you want to be the boat without oars and a
rudder?
18. Development opportunities.
When looking for a new position or reconsidering
your current position, don’t just focus on:
- Salary.
- Benefits (company car etc) or the
- Work environment or Company culture.
but also carefully examine the Developmental
Opportunities offered.
19. Developmental opportunities.
Smart employees are switching on to the reality that
those companies that offer the opportunity to:
- constantly learn,
- to re-train,
- and even to re-orient their careers in new directions,
are their best chance to avoid career stagnation or loss of
job opportunity in later life.
20. Real Life – industry trends
Food Technologists.
- Education does not guarantee a job. Despite
industry shortages there is still a lot of competition
for good roles.
Serial re-structuring and serial redundancy.
- Stay ahead of the management.
- Don’t place too much store on managerial
assurances, as often Managers are less in control of
their own destiny than you might think, let alone
your destiny.
21. More trends.
The shift to lightly processed food, from frozen and shelf
stable to refrigerated technologies. This is a well
established long-term trend. And is where the demand for
technologists is. Along with Auditors for food safety.
The impact of MasterChef and cooking programs on TV,
may drive customers in new directions.
From vertical career paths to horizontal. The flattening of
organisational structures means reduced promotional
opportunities.
- Now is your chance to try something else.
22. 1. Hands on work experience of some sort.
Especially intern type experience.
2. Like them to be more extroverted than
introverted. i.e. bright, confident and
optimistic. With a degree of assertiveness for
audit roles.
3. Team-players wanted, especially in
development projects.
4. Keen, flexible, willing to adapt to and learn
about a business.
23. Key trends in how jobs are accessed
Many jobs are still accessed via the bush telegraph.
Increasing use of in-terns especially by large
employers. Often these roles are what used to be
called vacation or work experience roles.
Organised employers will try and pick up promising
grads at open days/graduate days, from as early as 2nd
year. So make sure you attend these events.
Many graduate or near graduate roles are accessed via
SEEK and other job boards.
Company job boards, especially by large companies.
Who have the profile to get the hits.
24. Key trends in how jobs are accessed
Growing use of social media such as Twitter,
Facebook and LinkedIn. Some companies use these
media to advertise roles – but is a very cluttered and
complicated area especially with proliferation of new
social media entrants.
Very limited use of press/newspaper ads nowadays,
but some employers (especially smaller ones) will still
place a one column ad in the classifieds.
Now more than ever there is a great variety of ways to
access candidates.
26. Why do you would want this role ?
• It’s a good idea to ask yourself the question: “Why do you want this role?”
before applying for any role.
• There is absolutely no point in applying for roles that you don’t really want –
some graduates do this, applying for every role they see, in a scatter gun
approach, hoping that they will land at least one role.
• If you do it too often, you just get a reputation as a serial applicant.
• You are far better being selective and only apply for those roles that will
point the way for the career you really want to develop.
• Think about what you want and ask questions of people already in these
careers, do some investigation, regard the process as a project and do some
planning.
27. What people typically do in this type of
role?
• It is one thing to think that you want to be an astronaut, but for
many jobs the reality is different to that of the outsider’s expectation.
• So it really is a good idea to do some checking with people who are
already working in the kind of role that you aspire to ensure that it
really is your thing.
• In addition the process of learning about a role will be beneficial
when you come to a job interview, you will know what it takes to do
the role and this is likely to impress the interviewer.
28. Research the employer.
• Employers vary greatly, in particular in their organisational
culture. There are some great employers out there, but equally
there are some awful employers too. So do your homework.
• It really is a good idea to get a handle on what an organisation is
like culturally as well as just knowing the nature of its business.
• In addition knowing about your potential future employer will
impress your interviewer when you are interviewed.
• Few candidates bother to learn anything about their potential
employer, so just doing some research will put you ahead of the
pack.
29. What do you bring to the role? –
Put it down in a cover letter.
• A good thing to do whenever you apply for a role is to carefully
craft a cover letter that introduces you to a potential employer; it is
also an opportunity for you to address the key criteria in a role.
• And the process of doing a cover letter and answering the key
criteria will also alert you to whether you are at all suitable for the
role in terms of your experience and qualifications.
• It is good discipline to do a new cover letter for each new role that
you apply for.
• Now that you have put together a great cover letter, you need to
back your application with a brief and to the point Resume
(sometimes also referred to as a C.V.) that supports your contention
that you are the ideal person for this role.
30. Put together a resume of 2 – 3 pages
and prepare a cover letter.
A resume should list:
• You name,
• Contact details,
• Education , (Academic)
• Training, (Vocational)
• Plus a list of your work experience that should not extend to anymore than 2
pages if you are a recent graduate.
• Your most recent experience should come first with earlier experience
following in order.
• Some people also like to put a Career Objective statement at the beginning of
their resume, this is entirely optional.
Much of the process of breaking into the workplace successfully is asking
questions, seeking answers and planning and the more you do, the
greater will be your “luck’ in landing that perfect first role.
