Simple advice to advance your career through professional growth

When you decide to take your next career step, write out your personal and professional goals to see if they align. The following questions can help you clarify your objectives:

1. Why are you in the field in which you’re currently working?
2. Are your talents and personality traits being fully utilised?
3. Are continuing education and training high priorities where you work?

After you’ve answered these questions, follow these next steps:

Career management. Take control of your life by taking positive steps to achieve your objectives.

Support. Be sure that your family endorses your choices. You’ll be able to move faster when an offer is tendered.

Networking. Your career network should include friends, current and former colleagues, vendors, industry contacts, recruiters, teachers and classmates.

Skills. Today’s economic environment is constantly changing, so make sure your skills are up-to-date.

Executive Coaching / Leadership Development  / Career Development.

Jo Howard  can support you with a unique blend of business experience, public speaking, presentation, coaching expertise and executive consultancy.  An initial meeting will help you choose the direction you want to take, whether it is developing your leadership skills, improving your standing, seated or virtual presentations, handing Q&A sessions, (media or interview), giving effective briefings or being able to speak on the spot.

Our programmes combine workshops and master-classes with one-to-one coaching to help you apply, review and integrate your learning. Always stimulating, insightful and productive for delegates, no two programmes are the same. We practice what we preach. A successful intervention has to start with understanding you and your organisation.

Interested? To discuss tailoring a programme designed for you, contact us today.

Your CV is your most important calling card in your job search. It should include the following information:

Contact information. Include phone (preferably mobile and home), address and email contact information. In addition, ensure your voicemail message is professional. A message that is too casual can create a negative impression.

Career objective. It’s your choice whether you opt to list your career objective or not. If your objective doesn’t match the recruiter’s needs, you may miss out on a golden opportunity. However, a clearly stated career objective can help your Search Consultant find your ideal career match.

Summary statement. Your summary should be brief.

1. Include your title and years of experience.
2. List pertinent skills.
3. Discuss your character traits or work style.

Example: “Sales Director with over 10 years’ experience with two FTSE 250 companies. Technical skills include P&L, budgeting, forecasting and variance reporting. Bilingual in English and Spanish. Self-starter who approaches every project in a detailed, analytical manner.”

Professional experience. List each position held in reverse chronological order. If you held multiple positions within the same company, list them all to show advancement and growth. The body of each position description should describe your responsibilities and specific accomplishments.

Other components. Include education, professional training, affiliations/appointments, licences, technical skills and languages.  12 accomplishments employers want to see on CVs

1. Increased revenues
2. Saved money
3. Increased efficiencies
4. Cut overheads
5. Increased sales
6. Improved workplace safety
7. Purchasing accomplishments
8. New products/new lines
9. Improved record keeping processes
10. Increased productivity
11. Successful advertising campaigns
12. Effective budgeting

For detailed and printable information on CV writing tips, click here How to Write a CV by Mark Carden

Before you interview for a position, get as much background about it and the prospective employer as possible. If you found the position through a Search Consultant, he or she should be able to provide that information for you. If not, conduct research on the Internet, and tap into industry contacts.

Questions to ask

After you’ve done your background on the company, make a list of questions to ask the employer:

• Why is this position available?
• What training programmes are available to the person in this position?
• What are your goals for this position?
• What obstacles must be overcome for the person in this position to succeed?
• How will my performance be evaluated in the first 6 months and 12 months?
• What opportunities are there for growth in the next 12 months? Two years? Five years?
• What growth do you anticipate for your organisation in the next 12 months?

Questions you may be asked

We will give you a good idea of the hiring manager’s personality, their typical interview style, and a few important questions that the employer is likely to ask, such as:

• Tell me about yourself.
  Keep your answer to the professional realm only. Review your past positions, education and other strengths.
• Why are you interested in this position?
  Relate how you feel your qualifications match the job requirements. Also, express your desire to work for the employer.
• What are the most significant accomplishments in your career?
  Identify recent accomplishments that relate to the position and its requirements.
• Describe a situation in which your work was criticised.
  Focus on how you resolved the situation and became a better person because of the experience.
• What do you know about our organisation?
• How would you describe your personality?
• How do you perform under pressure?
• What have you done to improve yourself over the past year?
• What did you like least about your last position?
• Why are you leaving (did you leave) your present (last) company?
• What is your ideal working environment?
• How would your co-workers describe you?
• What do you think of your boss?
• Have you ever fired anyone?
• What was the situation and how did you handle it?
• Are you creative?
• What are your goals in your career?
• Where do you see yourself in two years?
• Why should we hire you?
• What kind of salary are you looking for?
• What other types of jobs/companies are you considering?

Do:

• Arrive 10 minutes early. Being late to an interview is never excusable.
• Clarify questions. Answer the interviewer’s questions as specifically as possible. Relate your skills and background to the position requirements throughout the interview.
• Give your qualifications. Focus on accomplishments that are most pertinent to the job.
• Anticipate tough questions. Prepare to turn perceived weaknesses into strengths.
• Ask questions. An interview should be a mutual exchange of information, not a one-sided conversation.
• Listen. Concentrate not only on the interviewer’s words, but also on the tone of voice and body language. Once you understand how the interviewer thinks, pattern your answers accordingly and you will be able to establish a better rapport.
• Dress appropriately. Be conservative, not flashy. Make your first impression a professional one.
• Be professional. Smile, make eye contact and have a firm handshake. These are simple but important things that are easy to forget to do during an interview.

Don’t:

• Don’t answer vague questions. Ask the interviewer to clarify fuzzy questions.
• Don’t interrupt the interviewer. If you don’t listen, the interviewer won’t either.
• Don’t be overly familiar, even if the interviewer is.
• Don’t ramble. Overlong answers may make you sound apologetic or indecisive.
• Don’t lie. Answer questions truthfully.
• Don’t express resentment. Avoid derogatory remarks about present or former employers.
• Don’t wear perfume or after shave. The interviewer may not share your tastes.

Closing the interview

Job candidates often second-guess themselves after interviews. By asking good questions and closing strongly, you can reduce post-interview doubts. If you feel that the interview went well and you want to take the next step, express your interest to the interviewer. Try an approach like the following: “After learning more about your company, the position and responsibilities, I believe that I have the qualities you are looking for. Are there any issues or concerns that would lead you to believe otherwise?”

This is an effective closing question because it opens the door for the hiring manager to be honest with you about his or her feelings. If concerns do exist, you may be able to create an opportunity to overcome them, and have one final chance to dispel the concerns, sell your strengths and end the interview on a positive note.

A few things to remember during the closing process:

• Make sure that you have thoroughly answered these questions during the interview: “Why are you interested in our company?” and “What can you offer?”
• Express appreciation for the interviewer’s time and consideration.
• Don’t expect an offer to be made or a specific salary to be discussed during your first interview.

Follow-up

After your interview, follow-up is critical. When you get in your car or have a moment, immediately write down key issues uncovered in the interview. Think of the qualifications the employer is looking for and match your strengths to them. A thank-you letter or email should be written no later than 24 hours after the interview. Be sure to call your Search Consultant to discuss your interview and your next steps.

Congratulations, you’ve landed the job! Now you’re faced with the delicate challenge of resigning from your current employer without burning bridges, and saying good-bye to friends and colleagues.

We will help you throughout this process. Make an appointment with your manager to respectfully explain your decision. Your manager needs to hear that your decision is firm and final and that you are committed to your new employer. Express appreciation for the opportunities that your former employer has given you.

Be careful not to get lured into any discussions other than your resignation. However, be prepared to discuss how you will assist in managing the transition of your current responsibilities and projects.  For further advice see our How to Resign Graciously Insight.

While counter-offers may be tempting and even flattering, there can be pitfalls that you need to be aware of. Ask yourself these questions:

• The original reasons why you showed an interest in making a move will probably still be there.
• Will your loyalty always be in question?
• If there are future cut-backs, will you be one of the first to go because of concerns about your loyalty?
• If you accept the counter-offer for more money, are you just giving your employer the time they need to locate and select your replacement?
• Will your career track be blocked if you accept it?
• Will your responsibilities be expanded?
• Will you have to report to a person you don’t respect?
• Will the counter-offer be next year’s raise, so you’ll get nothing next year?
• Is the counter-offer a ploy to avoid a short-term inconvenience by your employer?
• What are your realistic chances for promotions now that you have considered leaving?

As attractive as counter-offers may appear, they can greatly decrease your chances of achieving your career potential.

See our insight article here for more information on why you shouldn’t accept