Transferable Skills - What Are Yours?

How Your Transferable Skills Help You Get a Job

Your Resume and the Employer

What are transferable skills? These are the skills and abilities you possess which can be utilized in a variety of job positions. They are especially important to individuals who are changing careers or have little work-related experience, such as college students.

Why are these skills important? If you do not have a great deal of experience in the field of work you are pursuing, you will need to attract the prospective employer’s attention by emphasizing the skills that you DO have which relate to the position you are interested in.

When you understand what skills and abilities you have, you are better prepared to market yourself to employers. It’s difficult to explain to others what you are capable of when you haven’t taken the time to figure it out yourself. It’s especially important when you have little concrete experience in a given field.

These skills could literally make the difference between you getting a call for an interview – or someone else getting that coveted phone call.

To learn more about Transferable Skills, click here:

http://professional-resume-example.com/transferable-skills.html

Career Planning - Career Choices

Planning is a vital part of making wise career choices. Searching for the ideal employer is difficult, so you have to look ahead. You have to know what it is that you want. You have to set goals. Then, you have to strive to reach your goals. If you don't take the time to determine what your career path is, how are you ever going to know if you're actually headed in the right direction?


When you believe that you have a vision of your ideal job career, then you can focus on where you want to work, or rather, who you want to work for. At this stage, you must make decisions about employers based on how they fit with your career path.


Ask yourself:
Does the employer afford advancement opportunities?
What is the corporate climate like?
How is the organization positioned for future growth?
Is the company’s philosophy similar to my own?
What kind of reputation does the company have?


Again, determine your career path/career field first, then focus on which employer will take you where you want to go.


When you plan ahead, you'll be FAR AHEAD of your competition.

To read more about this, please visit:
http://professional-resume-example.com/career-planning-choices.html

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: SEPTEMBER 2005

(Employment Situation Summary)

Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-35,000) in September, and the unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.


The measures of employment and unemployment reported in this news release reflect both the impact of Hurri- cane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast in late August, and ongoing labor market trends. Over the 12 months ending in August, payroll employment grew by an average of 194,000 a month and the unemployment rate trended downward.
www.bls.gov/cps/

as reported on www.professional-resume-example.com

Administrative Assistant Cover Letter Help

What Is So Important About Cover Letters?
In a word – EVERYTHING!


It’s taking the best of your qualifications and characteristics and making them exciting and enticing to the prospective employer. It’s a carefully crafted letter that leads the employer to the resume to see why you are the best candidate for the job.


The best news is that it isn’t that hard.

Competition for Administrative Assistant positions is intense. You have to stand out from the crowd in a positive, exciting way to ensure you are the one employers are determined to hire.


How do you make your cover letter “sing your praises”?


If you have already written your resume, the words you need are already mapped out for you. It’s just a matter of weaving them in and out of a few paragraphs. Ok, so it’s a little more involved than that. At least you have the hardest part done – the resume.


It’s much easier to pull from the resume and reflect on your character when you have put the time in to create a professional personal history. Not only that, but since you know about the employer from having written your targeted resume, you have much of what you need to target the letter as well.


The cover letter builds on the resume and leads the employer toward it. Its goal is to get the employer excited about the resume. It is a sales tool, just like the resume is. Sell yourself in a compelling and exciting way. Inject energy and let your best qualities reach the employer through carefully written examples and anecdotes. Don’t just state what you are capable of, show the employer with vibrant language that attracts and invites the employer to want to know more.

Let your personality show, but remain professional.

Expectations - And Work

Your Job and Your Needs

Everyone has expectations for themselves and others. Have you thought about your own expectations for your success in the work arena?


What about...

• How many hours do you think you will have to work each week and how will that affect your family obligations?
  
• Will you make enough money to live comfortably? Do you want to live more than comfortably?
  
• Do you think the work you do will ever have to compromise your integrity or values?
  
• Are you qualified?
  
• Do you need additional education?
  
• Are you willing to make adjustments if your expectations are not met?
  

Preparing yourself for the future is one of the best investments of your time. There will be times, however, when your lifestyle will change (you get married, buy a home, have children, etc.). When that happens, you may have to re-evaluate your chosen path. Maybe you will need to return to school to further your education or perhaps you will find that you need to change careers entirely.

Life is not static.
Change is inevitable.

How you approach the future is up to you. Will you take personal responsibility for your own career path? Will you put forth your best effort to succeed? When you take the initiative to prepare yourself for the opportunities ahead of you, you will be rewarded with a thriving career.

Look Ahead With Confidence

Tips For Effective Group Relationships

Tips for Effective Group Relationships

(excerpt from Preparing For Career Success, 1997)

1. Treat others with respect.

2. Be willing to listen attentively.

3. Stick to the task.

4. Don't dominate the group.

5. Think before you speak.

6. Don't be afraid to speak up.

7. Avoid making cynical remarks.

8. Apologize if you offend someone.

9. Recognize and correct your mistakes.

10. Take the initiative to participate.

11. Provide feedback to other speakers.

12. Don't rejudge other people.

13. Keepp an open mind.

14. Don't be a know-it-all.

15. Cooperate with others.

16. Be open to suggestions.

17. Make suggestions to the group.

18. Evaluate all suggestions sincerely.

19. Ctiricize in a constructive way.

20. Tolerate differences in others.

from Preparing for Career Success, West Publishing Company, 1997, p.120

Hurricane Katrina & Rita - Unemployment Compensation

Washington D.C. -- Evacuees who lost their jobs because of Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, and had to flee their homes, may be eligible to receive unemployment compensation where they currently reside.

The benefits, which also extend to self-employed persons, are funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a 26-week Disaster Unemployment Assistance program administered by the states.

The program is available to unemployed U.S. nationals and qualified aliens who worked or were self-employed if they:

*worked or were self-employed in or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment in an area declared as a federal disaster area.
*can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of a disaster.
*establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.
*do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state.
*can not perform work or self-employment because of an injury or incapacity that is a direct result of the disaster.
*became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of the household.
*can not work or perform self-employment due to closure of a facility by the federal government.
*lost a majority of income or revenue because the employer or self-employed business was damaged, destroyed, or closed by the federal government.


Unemployed evacuees seeking to register for assistance should call the following toll-free numbers:

For displaced Alabama workers: 866-234-5382For displaced Louisiana workers: 800-430-8076; for questions, 1-866-783-5567For displaced Mississippi workers: 888-844-3577For displaced Texas workers: 800-939-6631

If not already done, evacuees should also make sure the Post Office has their current address. If not, go online to www.usps.com, call 1-800-275-8777, or go to any U.S. Post Office and submit a change of address request. After changing an address, call FEMA, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 and update applicant files.

Resume Writing Services

Someone on a forum recently asked if she should hire someone to write her resume and cover letter for her. In truth, it seems like an easy solution, but there are pitfalls to doing so.

Actually, a better way to word that would be: There are some wonderful benefits to writing your own resume and cover letter.

It is always best to write your own resume and cover letter. Why? Because you know yourself better than anyone else. No one else will be able to state as clearly and accurately what you truly have to offer an employer. There are also two HUGE benefits to doing it yourself.

First, you will save money. Second, you will be better prepared when it comes time to interview. By taking the time to write your resume and cover letter yourself, you will be able to quickly and easily remember all the pertinent information that an interviewer will ask. As for what to say, emphasize those skills and accomplishments that best match the position you are seeking. Target the information as much as possible to the employer and the vacant position. Do your research to find out whatever you can about the company and the work you would be doing and use the same kind of language that is used in that field. No one else can speak for you as clearly and succinctly as you can.

Don't waste your money on resume-writers. Save yourself some money and prepare yourself for the interview at the same time. You'll be glad you did.

~C
www.professional-resume-example.com