10 Ways to Speed-Up Your Job Search Effort

Today everyone knows at least one person who has lost their job to down-sizing, right-sizing, cut-backs, production reduction or a mean, vicious “bogus leader” who could care less about your family, your life or your existence at the company. This may sound a bit overboard, but everyone has probably experienced the manager, supervisor or company leader from hell, and if you haven’t just stick around.

It is this type of leadership that is taking companies down the path of death and destruction. So what’s a jobless person to do? First you must get organized and do a serious self examination. Look at the things you love to do, your gifts and talents. This is not fluff, you may be at the best time of your life if you are willing to get real and do some serious work. You cannot expect others to do this for you, you have to own the unemployment label, and decide where you want to go from here. Leave the pity party for later.

Do you have a charismatic personality? Have you ever done sales? Can’t live knowing that your life depends on you getting a commission? Try it. Yes, that’s easy for me to say, but “nothing ventured nothing gained” and you should always have more faith in yourself than a “bogus leader.” It is unfair and foolish for employees today to think that their employer should always have their best interest in mind when planning company growth and expansion. The company leadership is looking out for the bottom line and that’s all. In a perfect world they would care about workers, but this is not a perfect world it’s a global economy and it’s “all about the Benjamin’s.”

Here are 10 things you must do before starting your job search:

1. Do an honest in-depth evaluation of your job skills. Take a serious look at your management, financial, communication, research and computer skills.

2. List all those transferable skills, for example, auditing, appraising, recruiting troubleshooting and organizing, and all those task that fit under the umbrella labeled “other duties as directed.”

3. When writing your resumes select your words carefully. Use only strong, positive points that are relevant to the job you are seeking.

4. Use skill titles and job headings that match the job you want. Unrelated job titles are a sure indication that you do not have knowledge about the position.

5. Consider doing contractual work. Just consider it.

6. Practice your interviewing skills before the actual interview, and master the one important aspect of nonverbal communication…eye contact.

7. Consider taking a job in an area outside your comfort zone. You might like it.

8. Remember to speak with those folks willing to act as a reference. Never assume that they will say positive things about you, call them and make sure your relationship is still sound.

9. Never email a cover letter as an attachment without a signature. Those cover letters without signatures are often the ones eliminated first. Use a scanner or email from a copy store i.e. Kinko’s that will allow you to scan your signature and send a signed cover letter.

10. Keep track of all those positions you are applying for and make sure the people living with you are aware you are applying for positions so they answer the telephone with style and grace. You are a representation of the type of home your come from, so remind everyone to be professional.

Looking for a job in Singapore, you can source a list of available jobs at WDA jobs Singapore.

A recruitment article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment coach that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

How Communication Can Help Your Job Search

It this ever changing world of job search, many people have ignore the importance of communication. There are crucial things that you need to say to the right people in order for you to find the job, make a first good impression, and convince them that you are the right one for the job. In addition to that, you will also need to negotiate with them your new salary package. In order to ensure that this is communicated effectively, it has to look natural and also in a persuasive manner. Not everyone is a born presenter or a has a confidence level of an expert in public speaking, therefore the best way to overcome any communication blunders is to rehearse your speech.

You most likely shrug of the idea and say that rehearsing for a speech or dialog is only for a room full of people. But think again, in a job search, there are topics which you need to cover during an interview. That is why you should plan and rehearse beforehand, even for telephone cold calls, interview questions, and introductions or even during the questions and answer section.

One of the most basic yet important ways to give a polish and professional verbal communication is to script it out fist. Write down the important facts that you would like to cover in the topic first. After that start filling in the words so that the communication seem more natural. Avoid being stiff when coming out with the script. The best policy is to keep it simple and natural. No one is going to punish you if you use simple terms. You will most likely sound like someone that is clueless if you were to use bombastic words that you have no idea what it meant in the first place.

After you have completed your script you will need to ensure that it sounds natural. One of the best ways is to actually read it out loud. Sometimes a sentence might look good on paper, but it does not sound too natural when read out loud. If it does not sound like something you would say, revise it again. Continue this process until your script is perfect. That way when you actually come face to face with the person that you need to communicate with, it will come naturally.

In order to make a better impression during the conversation, you will have to memorize your script. You do not have to memorize word by word, but just the important section of the script. If you have read it and rehearse it many times, it will normally come natural to you. Have you wondered why you can remember the lyrics to your favorite song effortlessly? That is because you listen to the song many times and sing along to the song as well. This brings us to out next important point.

It might sound weird at first, but you should consider recording yourself as you rehearse this conversation. That way you can play it back, listen and analyze what needs to be change. The more you listen to yourself, the more aware you are of your weakness and therefore you can improve upon it.

Practicing communication is an ongoing process. You will have to do it a couple of times before you get it right. Sometimes you can simply just strike up a conversation with someone while waiting for the train to work or someone at the grocery store. This is to boost your self confidence just in communication with a different individual. When you need this skill the most for example during a job interview, you are prepared.

Searching for a job in Singapore, you can source a list of available jobs at job bank Singapore.

A recruiting article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment mentor that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

Are You Doing All the Right Things But Still Not Able To Get a Job? I Know a Secret That Will Help

The secret way to get a job was staring me right in the face for weeks before I realized it. I was helping out at a job center counseling people who had been trying to get a job for months but who just could not seem to get hired. I was really motivated to help these people but I didn't really help much until I finally figured out what was wrong.

Now if you think these people couldn't get a job because there was something wrong with them - THINK AGAIN. In fact, I was dealing with highly qualified people - people who I would want to hire myself. Many of them were people who had lost their previous job through no fault of their own. It's tough economic times and many companies have down-sized and they had to let exceptionally people go. Other candidates that I worked with were some of the hottest students to come out of the local university.

They should have been easily hired for entry level jobs but all they were getting were tons of reject letters.We did all sorts of things to help them. We did mock interviews. We went over their resumes with a fine-toothed comb. We re-wrote resumes so that they matched perfectly what the employer was looking for. We were sure to include all the right keywords in the resume, including the ones in the job description. We helped them research prospective companies so they could tailor their resume more closely to the company. We even helped them with their wardrobe. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING - seemed to be helping.

I was a mystery to me. Yes, I realized that there were fewer jobs out there than normal and that because of this companies had the luxury of being VERY selective but these candidates, in many cases, were IDEAL. However, they weren't even getting many interviews, let alone jobs.

And... here's what made it even more perplexing...

The few interviews that our clients were getting weren't usually going to those we thought were the TOP candidates.

In fact, we sometimes had several people applying for the same job and guess what happened?

If I were to mentally rank the candidates based on their job application, and in some cases this was REALLY OBVIOUS, the top candidates were NOT the ones getting the interviews.
How could this be?

Well, I FINALLY figured it out. It was staring me right in the face the whole time but I somehow missed it and so did all of my associates.

The difference that REALLY mattered was the cover letter.

Now, you may be thinking you have a really professional cover letter so that couldn't be YOUR problem...right? WRONG

Everybody these days has a "professional" cover letter. This is because there are "professional" templates out there readily available to take and modify and submit. They're free on the internet and there are whole thick books full of them that can be checked out for free at the library or accessed through job centers like ours.

Here's the problem in a nut shell. EVERYONE has the same type of "professional" cover letter... and after a while they all just sort of blend in together.

What you actually need is something TOTALLY DIFFERENT from everyone else. AND... you want some wording in there that immediately grabs the hiring manager. Every good marketer knows that there are certain phrases and ways of approaching things that trigger certain responses in most people... and here you have a very targeted audience: a very over-worked busy professional manager who is getting so many applications he/she can't possibly go through them all.

So, what does this busy hiring manager do? He/she reads all the cover letters and creates his/her short-list from this without ever even reading the rest of the application.
So if you have a cover letter that really stands out, you may even be able to beat out other candidates who may have a stronger resume, more experience, and better references because the hiring manager may never even see those if he/she is basing the short-list on the cover letter alone - and this happens way more than you may realize.

It also may explain why IDEAL CANDIDATES sometimes get passed over and it should give you a really good idea of what you can do about it if you are one of those candidates.

Searching for a job in SG, you can search a list of available jobs at Singapore WDA job bank.

A recruitment article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment coach that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

Job Skills - 7 Essential Skills That Are Required For Any Job

In this highly competitive economy, employers are looking for workers who can do more than just fill a vacancy - they are looking for people who can help them grow. While any job has a specific skill set associated with it, companies want workers with "evergreen" job skills that are always useful in changing times.

If you want to find a job that will let you grow professionally, you'll want to make sure that you have skills that will help your company grow right along with you.

These skills will make you a highly sought-after candidate in any field, and will help you to keep the job you get:

1. Research skills
Nobody has all the information they'll ever need in their head (or on their desk) already, but if you know how to do research, you'll always be able to find the information in a timely manner.

2. Logic and reason
Every company runs into problems, and those problems need to be solved. A firm grasp of logic and reason will make you an invaluable asset.

3. Technological literacy
Computers have taken over the workplace, and every worker needs to have at least a basic level of skill and comfort with modern technology, just to be able to function.
You don't need to have a degree or special training in computers or information technology, but you'll be expected to have a basic level of ability to work with computers.

4. Communication skills
Every job will require you to communicate with other people, in speaking and often in writing as well. Employers are interested in workers who can express themselves clearly in their dealings with supervisors, underlings and co-workers.

5. Organization
A messy desk may be acceptable (though it is never recommended), but a messy approach to your work is never something an employer is looking for. You'll probably have to do a lot of different tasks, each with a different schedule and deadline, and being able to organize your work is crucial.

6. Interpersonal skills
Every workplace has people in it, and those people often have different personalities and temperaments. Being able to work well with others, and communicate across barriers of culture and personality is necessary.

7. Career-minded orientation
If you don't know where you're headed, neither does your company. Having a plan for your own career will make your employer more willing to help you achieve your goals since they will benefit from your growth.

These skills aren't the only ones that you'll need for your specific job, but they are skills that will make you an asset to any employer, and serve you well in any position that you'll find yourself in.

Looking for a job in Singapore, you can get a list of available jobs at job bank WDA.

A recruitment article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment coach that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

How To Write a Good CV and Impress Potential Employers

The path that leads to an appealing job offer always starts―and unfortunately often ends―with your CV. It takes a busy HR director just seconds to review your CV among a pile of others, and make a quick judgment: In those critical few seconds, only your writing skills influence his or her decision.

Before you dive into reading articles and books that teach you how to write a good CV, remember: Much of the impression that you leave on a potential employer comes from the level of your English writing. Since you haven't had the chance to meet with that potential employer and convince him or her why s/he should choose you among all the candidates, only your writing skills reflect your image.

Therefore, there's no doubt that a professionally written and creative CV dramatically increases your chances of gaining an interview with that potential employer.

How to write a good CV by using advanced technology solutions
Recently, some ambitious developers took English writing to the next level, developing a smart, self-learning technology called Natural Language Processing; this technology constantly analyzes millions of documents and text phrases, maintaining a growing proprietary dictionary database that simulates the human mind, so that the end user is provided with an accurate online grammar check and spell check solution.

This innovative technology compares the analyzed results with the user's existing written text―a CV for example―and automatically performs a punctuation check, language enrichment (using an advanced online synonyms dictionary), and grammar and spelling correction, eventually transforming a plain old CV into a professional and appealing "ticket to ride".

Benefits of using professional grammar software to write your CV:

(1) Makes your CV stand out from the rest, thereby increasing your chances of getting an interview.

(2) A potential employer will perceive you as intelligent, professional, and trustworthy.

(3) Prevents embarrassing spelling or grammar errors that can cause you to lose an appealing joboffer.

(4) Eliminates job-hunting stress, as you no longer need to spend hours writing, checking, andrechecking that CV.

(5) One writing solution contains all the editing tools you need to write a professional CV.

Searching for a job in SG, you can source a list of latest jobs at wda job bank.

An article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment coach that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

How To Get A Disney Channel Acting Audition

Kids all over the country dream of making it big in show business. While acting jobs can be hard to land, it is possible to break into this difficult field by answering a call for a Disney Channel acting audition. Many of today's hottest young entertainers got their start from a Disney Channel acting audition. Though there are sometimes hundreds, or even thousands of people competing for just a few spots, this has been the big break that boosted the career of many performers.

The easiest way to land a Disney Channel acting audition is through an agent. They are made aware of current calls and will have the specifics of the open roles available. It is much easier for inexperienced actors and actresses to get themselves noticed by using an agent than attempting to land these highly sought after roles on their own. While there are ways of getting a Disney Channel acting audition on your own, this is the simplest route.

A great resource that will allow you an inside look at a Disney Channel acting audition listing is the Disney website at http://corporate.disney.go.com/auditions/. Their corporate section has a special page that will let the public know about any open auditions, casting calls, or extras opportunities. While this may not get you the scoop on every Disney Channel acting audition, it can be a foot in the door if you do not have an agent. Check this page regularly to see what auditions are being offered nearest you.

Though winning a part through a Disney Channel acting audition can be difficult, with hard work it is possible. Just take a look at all of the big name celebrities who have become hugely successful after a start on the Disney Channel. Who knows, maybe you could be the next huge success!

Searching for a job in Singapore, you can source a list of latest jobs at WDA jobsnet.

An article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment coach that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.

Blank Resume Form For Free - How I Easily Write My Resume

When you are starting to create your CV, it will help you if you go on the net and download a few free resume formats as a benchmark to create your resume. A lot of people have doubts about what a resume ought to look like, and the free resume formats which are there on the net could truly assist you when you have questions about what to put on your resume and what you must leave out.

There's no unitary standard way to write a resume. There are various formats and people put different information on them. But, having free resume formats to direct you could assist you decide what you reckon is significant to you and what is not. In addition you will be able to modify your resume for the job you are applying for. Depending on the sort of position, you might prefer to change the formatting and also the information a little to meet the necessities of the job.

If you are applying for a sales job and you don't hold much education specifically relating to the sales field however you do hold several job experiences in sales, you would prefer to have your job experience listed at the beginning on your resume followed by your qualification. On the other hand, if you're applying for a teaching job and have a lot of education which goes for teaching, then you might want that at the beginning followed by job experience.

A good CV could make the difference between receiving an interview and not receiving an interview. The CV is the very first thing a potential employer checks and you'll want it to appear professional and command the person performing the hiring job to wish to see you personally. It must be no longer than two pages - actually one page if you are able to fit your information on a single page and this can be done in several ways.

The primary idea of a resume is the same, however there are various ways to state your skills and experience which is why free resume formats could help you create your best resume and receive that interview. Naturally, the free resume formats you use must just be utilized as guidance. You have to put in your own information! Perform an Internet search with your favorite search engine and put "free resume formats" in the search box. You'll have an option of 100s of sites. Consider a few of them and download a few free resume formats which interest you and then start writing your resume.

Seeking for a job in SG, you can source a list of available jobs at wda job bank.

A recruitment article by Dougles Chan - A recruitment coach that speciliased in recruitment training and recruitment mentoring in Singapore and globally.

Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for your recruitment training and mentoring needs.