China Job Blog

Most people use the Education section of their resumes to list their degrees to show their qualifications for a particular position. This section of the resume seems pretty cut and dried. List schools, cities and dates of attendance and move on to distributing the resume. However, in today’s difficult economy, being competent may not be enough to land you that coveted first step to a job: being named as a candidate. You need to show the potential employer how you are going to wow them, exceed their wildest dreams, and how you will solve their most difficult problems. You can do this by showing the employer that you are a life-long learner.

By all means, list your degrees on your resume and leave off their dates of completion if you feel that it dates you. But make an effort to keep learning and to update your skills. Add related skills to your professional resume that will build on your primary skill sets. Go to workshops. Take continuing education classes, set aside time for informative webinars. Knowledge becomes quickly obsolete in this age of technology; those who keep learning and use that knowledge in their careers are the employees who will be most productive and get noticed by management.

It isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Yes, learning does take time, but you get the opportunity to experiment during work and see which skills work in a given situation and which don’t. This is valuable knowledge, and it deserves a place on your resume, right under your degree list. Make it snazzy. For example, don’t just list “Internet Search Webinar.” Make sure you list the appropriate webinar name such as “Weddles Guide to Internet Searches.” Weddles is a respected and known name within the job search industry. The name signifies that you learned valuable information by attending this webinar.

Above all, be prepared to talk about any new experiences you listed on your resume with an interviewer. Tell how this new learning can resolve employer problems and how it can be used to train other employees. Make a case for life-long learning, and you may just start a trend at your new workplace to give employees funds and time off to pursue new learning.

Erin Kennedy, CMRW, CPRW, BS/HR, is a Certified Master & Executive Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, Inc., home to some of the best resume writers on the planet. She is a nationally published writer and contributor of 12+ best-selling career books and has written hundreds of career-related articles. She has achieved international recognition following yearly nominations of the prestigious T.O.R.I. (Toast of the Resume Industry) Award. Reuse of this article is encouraged but must include a link to http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com

If you’ve been out of work for a while, you may decide what you need is a career change. The success of that approach depends on your answers to five important questions.

First, are you considering a change because you do not like your current work situation? It may make more sense to look for another work situation than to leave your career.

As a Coach and Professional Resume Writer for more than 10 years, I have found many folks who confuse unhappiness with their current situation as unhappiness with their career choice. There is a difference. I can help you determine which change is right for you.

Second, if you have any doubts about a career change, are you sure you have exhausted every avenue to advance in your current career?

Third, if you are determined on a change, are you moving into a career you can feel passionate about? If you are depressed about the prospect of change—for example, if you are leaving behind the only work that gives you joy—you cannot present yourself well at interviews.

Your lack of passion shows.

That type of career change makes your job search harder, not easier.

Fourth are your skills transferrable? If you need help presenting your skills and achievements in their best light, get help from a professional.

Fifth, if you do not have the current skills to make the final career change you want, do you know what steps to take to qualify for the career you want?

A career change should be exciting and fulfilling… not stressful.

The author of this article is Robin Schlinger, and the original post of this article is from CAREEREALISM.com. http://www.careerealism.com

CAREEREALISM.com is a world-ranked career management blog that provides personal branding tips and job search advicefrom proven, approved career experts.

From Chinadaily.com.cn

BEIJING - A slowdown in China’s economy has not caused employment woes, officials have claimed, but they also warned of challenges as the country’s small companies are confronting growing difficulties.

The country’s urban registered unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent in the first three months of 2012, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS). It means the rate has remained constant for seven consecutive quarters.

This was well below the government’s 4.6-percent annual target set for this year.

A total of 3.32 million new jobs were created in urban areas in the first three months of this year, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier, MOHRSS spokesman Yin Chengji said at a press conference. The government vowed to create more than 9 million new jobs in towns and cities this year.

Yin said a sluggish global market, rising trade protectionism and a slowdown in the national economy will all pose challenges to the country’s employment situation in 2012.

He added the impact of an economic slowdown might appear later in the year because of a delay effect.

China’s economy expanded 8.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, marking the slowest pace in almost three years, as exports waned due to sapped demand from major trade partners such as the European Union and United States.

The country’s economy is likely to endure further downward pressure as both domestic and external conditions are grim and the country’s companies “are confronting growing operational difficulties, including higher energy prices and substantially higher wages, said Zhu Hongren, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

According to MOHRSS statistics, there will be a huge gap between employment supply and demand as the country will need 25 million new jobs this year but the market only offered an average of 12 million new job opportunities in previous years.

However, compared with a shortage of jobs, the structural unemployment issue was more concerned with workers being competent for new jobs and a labor shortage spreading inland from the coastal regions, according to Yin.

Although there are various challenges, there are ways to solve them, said Zhou Tianyong, professor of the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, calling for more support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 75 percent of the country’s employment.

Lowering tax for SMEs will be the most effective measure to boost employment, which will also be viably backed by the country’s continuous rising fiscal revenue in these years, added Zheng Gongcheng, director of China’s Social Security Research Center at Renmin University.

If you’re looking for a job, then you will need to make sure that you’re building yourself the proper system to actually get a job. A lot job seekers really don’t think this way, and it ends up doing them a disservice in a big way. For starters, it’s easier to make sure that you will have things taken care of when you know that you’ve looked at everything from every angle, especially when it comes to a job interview. The first thing that you should do, however, is take a look at the way you’re currently doing things. After all, if you are already doing something that is working well for you, you will want to incorporate those details into the new system. On the other hand, if you’re making mistakes, then you will need to make sure that you’re identifying them and acting accordingly.

Not sure what mistakes you’re making? Well, we’re definitely glad that you asked us!

1. Not Making Eye Contact

When you first sit down with the job interviewer, chances are pretty good that you’re probably a little intimidated. Everyone gets a little nervous when they sit across from someone that has to decide on their future, but that doesn’t mean that you can shy away! You will want to make sure that you make contact as much as possible. There’s no reason to think that you’re less than the interviewer, or that you don’t have that it takes to really rock the interview. If you look away and not even attempt to make eye contact when you speak, the interviewer will think that you’re hiding something, or that you’re lying. There’s no need to shock them like that, so don’t go there!

2. Not Being Confident About Experience

You’ve worked hard all this time — why be afraid to really talk about your experiences? This is a question that a lot of people need to ask themselves when they think about a job interview. Yes, your experience will be checked. However, interviewers can usually tell right off the bat when you’re seriously as experienced as you think you are. Why? You can talk about it at length, including any victories that you’ve had on the job. Just because a victory is small doesn’t mean that it’s not a victory!

3. Showing Up Late, and Other Big Things

Showing up late is one of the worst things that you can do on a job interview. It tells the job interviewer that you really don’t want this job. You don’t want to work hard. You don’t want to be dependable. Now, this might seem harsh, because we all have set out with good intentions and found that there’s just no way that we could be somewhere at a certain time. Yet this is something that you will need to make sure that you get over very quickly, because you will need to think past what’s “fair” and what will actually get you the job.

If the resume is the key to the interview, then the interview is the key to the job. In fact, it’s a compressed “moment” in the life of your soon to be job, if you really want it. That’s the way you have to think about it. You have to really make the best first impression that you can.

Now, if you’ve taken the time to correct all three things here and you’re still having trouble, that’s when you will want to keep reaching for solutions rather than giving up. The right job could be just around the corner!

The original post of this article is from Job Finder Today Job Blog – Career and Job tips & advice

A resume, A resume, A resume. Say it three times fast, and it’s highly likely that you’re going to become dizzy. This is because a lot of people feel that a resume has to be something awful, it has to be something that takes up a lot of time and causes a lot of stress. It doesn’t have to be this way, but unfortunately that’s what we’ve been telling ourselves for a long time. Resumes take effort and hard work, right?

To an extent. It’s something that you will want to make sure that you are paying attention to, but it’s not like you have to always have the most perfect resume right on the first try. Give yourself a chance to seek out new resources to help you make a better resume over time. I bet that if you had one of your old resumes, you could immediately point out things that you wish you had done better. Instead of feeling bad, you might want to look into a few things on building a resume that you’re actually proud to show off.

We definitely have you covered — below are some points to consider when you’re really trying to build a great resume.

Think About the Format!

The best format around is a functional resume if you don’t have a lot of work experience. If you are returning to the workforce after a long absence, this is better than trying to immediately explain what those gaps are.

The resume is the door into the interview, so you will want to make sure that you save an issue like gaps in your resume for when you can explain it in detail, rather than something that your interviewer can reject before they’ve even gotten to know you as a person.

Think About the Design!

Design doesn’t mean a resume that’s yellow, or glow in the dark. It means making sure that your resume is clear and easy to understand. your interviewer will be looking at hundreds of resumes at a time — you will need to make sure that you don’t stand out to the point that the interviewer realizes that you’re not really serious as everyone else. If the interviewer can’t process your resume, they will trash it and move on to someone else.

Think About The Audience!

If you take nothing else from this guide, you might want to stop and really think about the points that you want to present to the audience in question. The purpose of a resume is to get noticed, and looked at enough for an interview. It’s a piece that’s supposed to be neutral, but at the same time it’s what interviewers will look at in order to determine that you really, really, really fit the culture of their company.

When you set up your resume, you don’t want it to be lengthy. If you want to stand out, you’ll have to be short and to the point. Don’t rely on standard business language all the time — it’s okay to let an interviewer know that you “rocked” a project, especially if you’re in the creative industry. Interviewers want to see passion. They want to see that you’ll fit in and you will fit in well. This is where researching the company that you really want to work with is a great idea; because it’ll help you work on the “tone” of your resume.

The original post of this article is from Job Finder Today Job Blog- Career and Job tips & advice.

The original post of this article is from Job Finder Today Job Blog – Career and Job tips & advice

Not every interview runs smoothly. Now, we definitely want it too, and many career guides exist on how to actually make the process a little more straightforward and free-flowing. However, not all guides cover something known as the “objection”. Let’s back up a minute.

Ever had a telemarketer call you? Yes, we know — it can be a pretty frustrating experience. The salesperson is trained to deal with your objections — simply put, all of the reasons why you don’t think that you will want or need the product or service that they’re offering. This is not the only arena where objections are going to come up — job interviews have them too. You could put on a great presentation, only to find that the interviewer still has some concerns. Let’s go over the five classic concerns and objections, and give you some solutions on how to overcome them. Keep in mind that this is still general advice; you will most likely need to customize their answers to fit your own speaking style for best results. You definitely don’t want to sound canned!

1. Too long of a gap between positions

If you’ve taken time away from your career, you will need to make sure that you position it properly. Even if you took time off to start a family, you need to make sure that you have something that you did in the interim aside from raising your children. This could be something like volunteering, or supporting your spouse’s career or business. If you took time off to run a company, you can say this and have references that can vouch for the activities that you did. Being self employed and going back to the corporate world isn’t a crime, but bad positioning can cost you the job interview.

2. Difference in Salary (higher than last, lower than last)

There are some positions that require you on the application to list how much you made. If you’re coming from the same industry, you don’t want to try to lie about how much you made. This will be obvious to the interviewer, and they may even call you out for it. “Why were you paid so far below the average for this position?” is a very common question that usually follows this type of incorrect information, so be careful.

If there is a severe difference between the money you made previously and the fact that you’re applying for a less lucrative position, you might want to be honest about your desire to seek out new opportunities. You can just say that your income requirements are not as high, but your desire to be part of an organization is. It’s a matter of selling sincerity more than anything else. You don’t want to just say something that isn’t true — that will only make your life harder, not easier.

3. Overqualified / Underqualified

The dreaded “overqualified” tag is one that tends to get a lot of candidates, but you can overcome it. You need to outline the tasks expected in your upcoming position, and state your desire to do those tasks within the confines of the new organization. Pull from your experience if you have to. The interviewer is concerned with you being overqualified because they don’t want to turn around and try to get this position filled in another 3 months — getting people in the door is very difficult, and it costs a lot of money to get someone to replace you. So they want to make sure that you will be able to handle things in the new position without wanting to run off because you might not be getting the challenge they would expect from you.

4. Relocation

If relocation is part of the position, you can bet that the interviewer is going to ask you about your feelings on it. You will need to simply state that you definitely are interested in the position, without looking too desperate. If it’s a matter of money, then you will need to indicate that you already have the costs of relocation calculated into your personal expenses. The less problem you indicate, the more they’ll accept that it’s not going to be a big issue.

5. 5 Year Plan

Even though a lot of people really don’t know where they’re going to be in five years, that doesn’t mean that interviewers aren’t going to ask you. They want to make sure that they can retain you as long as possible. Even if you have no intention of staying in the position that you’re applying for over that length of time, you definitely want to make sure that you have an appropriate answer. You want to let them know that you would like to move up in the company, or to move laterally and take on new skills along the same lines of your position. These are two approaches that can help you avoid making a direct commitment, but still letting the interviewer know that if there was an opportunity to stay, you definitely would.

Overall, these tips should get you the advice you need to handle positioning quite well in any job interview. As mentioned before, you will definitely need to make sure that your answers sound natural. If it doesn’t sound natural, then your interviewer will know that you’re not being very sincere, and that’s the last thing you want. Good luck with your job search!

Do you know how to catch the attention of key people in your field? Should you care about their opinions? If you really want a job in that field or you want to move up to a higher position, the answer is definitely yes! The truth is that we generally tend to interact with people that we know, like, and trust. However, this principle doesn’t just enter the job world — it covers it. People want to do business with people that they know, like, and trust. This is where the references system comes in. Your references are basically telling the new person in your professional life that you are a good person worth interacting with. We all do this for our friends and co-workers, but it really means something important. You must reach out and make those key connections, or your life as a professional will be very short lived.

So, how do you actually go about catching the attention of key influencers for your job search? The assumption here is that we not only want to catch their attention, but we want to keep it for the long road ahead. This also means that we can’t be too annoying — who wants to engage with someone that has no respect for their time?

There has to be system, a series of steps…something that we could consistently turn to get great results.

First and foremost, you will need to make sure that you map out who the key influencers within your organization really are. Is it always the highest ranking members of the firm you work for? No — in fact, it’s often the secretary that you see everywhere at once, or it’s the newest members of the staff that seem to know everyone. If you want to keep track of everyone, you might want to make sure that you pull out a notebook and a pen and jot down a few notes about just about everyone you know. This one little tip can quickly reveal the real power structure of a company, which can be far different than the organizational chart.

From there, you will want to make sure that you are focusing carefully on the specific people that you want to talk with. What can you really do for them that they can’t do for themselves? This is a question that a lot of people don’t bother answering because they don’t think that it’s important. Value is everything in business, and if you don’t want to offer any value, you will quickly end up missing out on some of the best experiences that you could have. It’s better to make sure that you really have something to offer the influencer.

If you’re in a position to take them out to lunch, you should definitely invite them. People tend to relax in social settings, and you might get some key information that you need. Make sure that you always thank them for their time — even if you’re the one footing the bill. If you’re the person inviting them to lunch, you most certainly are the one that’s footing the bill. Keep this in mind as you select the right venue — you don’t want to go over your own budget just to impress the influencer. They will spot this clearly, and they will be less likely to really help you move forward.

Finally, you will want to make sure that you keep your requests short and to the point. If you need a recommendation created, make sure that you give them not only the format you ant, but enough information to actually do it. This is the mistake that a lot of great professionals make with their influencers. They expect their influencers to do something great for them, but they don’t bother to try to actually do anything to make the job easier.

Did we mention gratitude? If you take nothing else from this guide, leave with this: you must make sure that the influencer knows how much you appreciate them. You shouldn’t expect miracles overnight, but if you take the time to develop a professional relationship with a few key influencers, there’s no limit to what you can achieve with your career — why not get started today?

The original post of this article is from Job Blog – Career and Job tips & advice.

Too many grads leave the job search until after graduation. In today’s fast paced – though strained – global economy, procrastination is a recipe for disaster. It might not be the apocolypse…let’s be honest here, but putting off your job search means you’ll probably be living on your parents couch for longer than you planned.

Notice that the top five preferred recruiting methods involve some degree of face-to-face interaction between the job applicant and the company. This means you need to get in front of the person who is making the hiring decision, preferably well in advance of graduation time. And forget about the job boards since simply posting your resume online is highly unlikely to yield positive results in the current job market. Now, more than ever, it is critical that college seniors and recent graduates do the following three things:

Start your job search early (3 months before you graduate is optimal)

Visit your on campus career center often and get to know the staff there

Learn how to network properly and start now

Getting the Most Out of the Campus Career Center

Most likely the campus career center staff are managed by a professor or staff member with a degree in counseling psychology. This is a great resource to have because people who have this type of expertise can help you make sense of the career skills assessment tests administered at the campus career centers. To get the most out of the career center, get to know the staff and especially the members who are counseling psychologists.

To start networking your way to a job offer make a list of everyone you know and organize your list into categories that describe your relation to that person. For example: teammate, coworker, roommate, person in the dorm, neighbor, teacher, parent’s friend, coach, boss, hairdresser, personal trainer at gym, gym buddy, family friend, boss, etc. All of these people are part of your network. Make an effort to talk to these people about your career goals and look for ways to help them also. Do not leave college without getting as many people’s contact information as you can. Don’t be shy. Remember networking is about building relationships and it can be FUN!

Second, you need to find ways to reconnect with people that perhaps you’ve lost touch with, or with whom you want to establish a more solid connection. This can be as easy as sending an email to a professor, or inviting a former peer at an internship to coffee. You could send out invitations to social networking sites like Facebook, or LinkedIn, along with a personal note stating how much you would like to stay in touch. Do not just send the standard default invitation because some people will wonder if you are just trying to increase your number of contacts on social networking sites to make yourself look good. If you take a few minutes to write a personal note, your request to network with someone is much less likely to be turned down. Throughout your job search, and for the rest of your career, it is important to maintain your relationships with all of your contacts. This is critical to your success, and something that is easier to do now than ever before thanks to the internet and social networking sites.

But even now, some of the most senior level professionals fail to do this and therefore miss out on career opportunities. Don’t make that mistake. A few years down the road you may decide that you want to apply to grad school, or you want to go back and apply for a position with the company you interned for while in school. It’s a lot easier to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation or to ask a former boss to be considered for a job when you’ve made the effort to stay in touch. Review everything you learned about yourself and your career goals at the campus career center. Have a clear picture in your mind about which fields interest you and what types of companies (small, medium, large, corporate, private) you want to interview with. Be sure to discuss your career goals with members of your network.

Finally, join volunteer organizations or tap into opportunities to help the alumni chapters of your university, fraternity or sorority. These types of groups provide ample opportunities environment for college seniors and recent college graduates to develop and strengthen additional skills, both personal and professional. Attend educational seminars that relate to your career and interests. Take advantage of all of these events and turn them into networking events. It is going to take some time to find a job in today’s shrinking job market, but if you are persistent you will get hired.

The original post of this article is from Gradtogreat.com

GradtoGreat.com’s mission is to empower future and recent graduates with tools and information to create and pursue a fulfilling career path—no matter the industry, occupation or field of interest. GradtoGreat.com can help to make the transition from college to the workforce easier.

1. Focus 90% of your job search on networking

Do you know how to network effectively? To be successful at networking you must reach out to your network in a way that makes people want to recommend or hire you. One way to do this is to be positive. Even if you are losing heart in your job search, instead of complaining how frustrating your job search has been, talk about what types of positions are appealing to you and what kinds of challenges you are eager to take on.

2. Don’t limit your search to only “available” positions

Spend time researching companies and make connections with people who work there. Get the name of the person who has the authority to hire you and write him or her a detailed letter explaining why you want to work for that company. Describe what your unique contributions would be. Be proactive and send along your list of references and resume.

3. Send an email to all of your close business contacts and friends about your job search.

Be sure to include a short description of the types of positions you are interested in pursuing. Keep this short, positive, and professional. When executed properly, this is a very effective method to learn about companies in your city that are hiring.

4. Attend events hosted by professional organizations and alumni associations

If you do not currently belong to any… join some. It is important to your long term career success to stay relevant in your field and/or industry.

5. Learn how to differentiate between jobs posted by placement firms and jobs listed by actual companies

This is especially important for entry level workers who waste a lot of time on wild goose chases by simply sending a resume to every job posting they find. Be on the lookout for:

The same contact phone number attached to several job listings. Multiple listings for the same position listed by the same firm

6. Be easy to find

Update your online alumni profile. If you use social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter make sure your information is up to date and consistent. Avoid MySpace. It doesn’t have a reputation for being the most professional of online social networking sites.

7. Be Friendly and Meet New People

You never know who is looking to fill a position that you would be perfect for. Better yet, your pleasant demeanor may motivate someone to create a position especially for you. It’s surprising how many people get offers for interviews at the coffee shop or at the gym.

8. Appreciate Informational Interviews

Too many job seekers blow informational interviews off as a waste of time, but they can be an invaluable resource. The person you talk to just might think of the perfect position for you in a week or two, or recommend you to a friend.

9. Keep Your Online Image Clean

If you wouldn’t want your mother to see it, keep it off the Internet. Employers are researching job applicants online in increasing numbers according to a survey administered by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2007. Ten percent of employers who responded to the survey said they would review social networking site profiles before making a hiring decision. Out of that ten percent, over half said the information they find online will impact whether or not that candidate is offered a position. The remaining employers surveyed said they are unsure how their online findings should influence their hiring decisions. (Update: in 2009 almost 50% of employers say they will do an online search for their job candidates)

If you have a blog, podcast, web site—or you regularly participate on someone else’s—what you put out there may be reviewed by a potential employer. Maintain a professional image both on and off the Internet and you won’t have anything to worry about.

10. Always Have an Updated Resume

Keeping a well written, updated resume handy is critical during your job search.  This allows you take advantage of opportunities as soon as you learn about them. For someone who wants to help you find a job there is nothing more frustrating than waiting until you finish your resume. The job will probably be filled by the time your resume is ready. Even when you aren’t looking for a job it is important to keep your resume updated. Revisit your resume at the end of each month to add new achievements and information.

The author of this article is Anne Brown, and the original post of this article is from Gradtogreat.com

GradtoGreat.com’s mission is to empower future and recent graduates with tools and information to create and pursue a fulfilling career path—no matter the industry, occupation or field of interest. GradtoGreat.com can help to make the transition from college to the workforce easier.