Choosing a Career with Benefits

BERLIN - OCTOBER 12: A dentist and her assist... 

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

So, you’ve graduated from college! Congratulations are in order. Now, you need to put all that education to work for you, right? You may have just the job in mind but the positions don’t usually include any benefits. Is that really all that important? You bet it is!

Ask About the Benefits

In your job search, don’t forget to ask about benefits. Often companies that may pay a little less make up for it in terrific benefits. Do you own a cell phone? Is it a Cricket Android? Use it to access the Internet and search for careers with benefits. Actually, Cricket is a company that gives its employees great benefits; you don’t even have to work full-time.

Types of Benefits

The main benefits that companies usually offer are healthcare, life insurance and some kind of retirement programs. All of these are important in today’s world; especially with healthcare. One of the nation’s main educators on financial management teaches that the earlier you start working on retirement, the less you will have to put away since time works for you. If an employer participates in matching funds, you should take full advantage of it; it’s like getting free money!

Other Benefits

Some employers offer benefits such as health club memberships. This is very advantageous to both employer and employee as it tends to cut down on sick time. Offers from employers to help pay for continuing education or higher degrees is quite beneficial too. Helping with adoption fees is another rare but extremely useful benefit to those who need it.

Just remember: benefits are beneficial!

 

 

Filed Under: Career, Employment Tagged With: , ,

3 Easy Ways to Make Your Resume More Effective

Resumes from Getty ImagesSo you have sent dozens of resumes to jobs you’ve applied to and still no response. You may have asked yourself, what am I doing wrong? Well, you may not be doing anything wrong, perhaps you’re not doing enough of the right things. Here are three simple tips that can make your resume more effective.

  • Have a Clear Career Objective

Your objective should answer two questions, what you want to do and how you can do it. For example, if you’re applying to a sales manager position, then your objective can be: A sales management position utilizing my proven experience in leading a number one regional sales team through aggressive direct marketing that increased quarterly revenues.

  • Use Industry “Buzz” Words

In the sales manager objective example, take note of industry relevant words like direct marketing and quarterly revenues. Having buzz words that are standard lingo for your desired industry will stand-out to recruiters. Keep in mind that recruiters may get dozens of resumes per day, so the first time a recruiter sees your resume it may be quickly scanned and not read word for word.

  • Tailor Your Resume Specific for Each Job Category

Perhaps one of the most counter-productive things you can do is apply to a job that your resume doesn’t reflect. If you have multiple job categories that you’re interested in, then it will serve you well to tailor your resume to match those categories. You can do this by highlighting skills you have that are relevant to those positions.

Implementing these tips into your resume may be just what you need to get hired.

Filed Under: Employment, Interview Tips Tagged With: , ,

Send a Thank You Note, Even if You Did Not Get the Job

With the job market is so small and the numbers of people look for a job so large, it is more important than ever to stand out from all the other potential employees. Since a lot of communication is now done over the computer, a great way to stand out from the crowd is to make sure you follow the old rules of sending a thank you note after you have had an interview. But, here’s the thing, you should send this thank you note whether you got the job or not. And, this should be a real thank you card that you send through the mail, with a handwritten note inside. Do not send a thank you email.

Address

The letter should be sent directly to the person you interviewed with. If you interviewed with more than one person, choose the one person that you spent the most time with. If you went through a recruiter, check with that person before sending the thank you card to avoid uncomfortable feelings.

Content

Use an opening sentence that grabs the reader. You just might impress the interviewer to recommend you for another position. In your note, you should ask what you can do to improve yourself for future employment opportunities with the company. It is also a good idea to congratulate the interviewer for finding the right person for the job and wish them well in the future. To enhance your chances of future interviews at that company, talk about the business and how you foresee the job you were interested in being important to the company’s growth. End the note by thanking the person for thier time and provide your ocntact information for future interviews.

Filed Under: Career, Employment Tagged With: , ,

How to Answer the Weakness Interview Question

Going on an interview can be a very stressful experience for most people. You are nervous about making a good impression, you probably want the job really badly and not knowing what you’ll be asked during an interview can be enough to send someone over the edge. When you are scheduled for an interview, the best thing you can do is prepare.

Do some basic research on the company and the position you are applying for. This will help you when answering interview questions. Answer the questions in such as way that lets the interviewer know that you are the best person for this job and that you will be an asset to the company. You can also go online to find out the most commonly asked interview questions so you can prepare your answer ahead of time. You might even want to practice interviewing with your partner or a friend.

Many people are the most nervous about how to correctly answer the dreaded interview question, “What is your greatest weakness?” or “Name one of your weaknesses.” This can throw people into a stupor. Never say that you do not know or that you don’t have any weaknesses, everyone does. Many interviewers don’t want to hear a positive trait that you’ve flipped to a weakness, like telling the interviewer that you are a perfectionist. Instead, talk about a prior problem or issue that you had in a previous job. Tell the interviewer how you identified the weakness and the steps that you did to resolve the problem and that it made you a better worker. It’s a good idea to end your story saying something like, “I’m always looking for ways to better myself.”

Filed Under: Employment, Interview Tips Tagged With: , ,
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