How To Define Your Ideal Job and Why You Should

How To Define Your Ideal Job and Why You Should 60 Why your passions are more important than what you studied in college. This is a guest post by Melvin Dichoso. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. I know the word “ideal” varies from person to person but here in this article by saying “ideal job”, what I mean is a job that you want and you think you can enjoy. In this guest writeup, I'm going to cover up why you need to define your ideal job first and foremost and how it's going to make your job hunting much easier.eval A little background about me first. I'm just 20 years old with a degree in Computer Science. I'm running my own small online business which has something to do with community-oriented websites and blogs yet still I prefer to have a day job, working as online marketing staff in one of the companies here in the Philippines. Now you know me ??eval How do I define it? By reading the title of this article, this is probably the first question that popped into your mind. As a general yardstick, this can vary (I know you hate to hear that) but I thought I can give out some tips on how you can really define it for yourself based on my own thinking and some that came from my friends. You need to definitely answer the following questions first before you can determine if you really like a particular job specification or not: Do I really want it? Am I going to be comfortable doing this thing for the next six months (or more)? What's my ideal work environment? What's my ideal workspace? How do I want to work? Do I want to face a computer for the whole 8 hours? My college degree and what I want to do, are they congruent? What's my main goal in working? (financial benefits or intrinsic benefits) Am I good enough to follow my passion and the job I want? Let me cite an example I know a guy who has a degree that would enable him to become a software developer. As we know that job pays pretty well. That guy applied to several companies to be an entry-level developer, he passed some and failed some. To make a long story short, the guy ended up having a job that has to do something with search engine optimization, writing content and running Pay-Per-Click campaigns. And that guy was me. Why did I move away from that? Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty competent programmer who can code well and its not that I hate programming. Its just that I'm more satisfied doing things like the above rather than dealing with code. I have been running this online business for almost 3 years now; that speaks a lot about my enthusiasm in this field. Why you need to define it It doesn't really take that much to figure out that 80% of people don't really stay with their first job. Here in the Philippines, most of my friends usually get employed by 3 different companies in a 2-year period, which is a pretty high rate. Sure, it may have something to do with the companies' policies of not regularizing employees in the first place but still I believe its still mainly because most people don't like their job. And even though they don't like it, they still take it anyway. Another thing related to that would probably be the growth. If you're switching companies quicker than anyone else, chances are good that your designation is not growing and neither is your salary. It's simple math- if I stay for this company for 4 years, then how many salary raises would I receive as oppose to switching over and over after 6 months? How defining it makes job search easier Admit it, it's hard to go outside wearing that funky eccentric dress while splashing that confidence if you're not really sure you want what you're going to do. Or in the case of a job search, most people just ignore so many job listings because they feel they aren't ready yet, which is obviously related to not having enough confidence in yourself. If you really think a job is ideal for you, why would you lack confidence? Why would you feel scared? So here it is! My belief with the whole job hunting thing is that people get employed more quickly depending on how much they like the job. How is that so? They're more confident, they have the enthusiasm to exert more effort to pass all exams (if there are any), they have the exceptional confidence to answer all the interview questions. No rocket science in my own opinion. Another thing about following what you think is ideal vs. going with the flow of what you learned in college is that you are likely more experienced with the former one. I myself didn't have any formal education with marketing. I began doing internet marketing in late 2007, studied it myself and more importantly put it into work, implemented it. So how about you? Are you following what you really want or are you stuck pretending that you want to be someone else? I'd definitely want to hear your opinion on this so let me know what you think in the comments below. About the Author Melvin Dichoso is your typical teenager, blogger, internet marketer and someone who has a day job. He blogs at MelvinBlog.com where he shares all his takes on things. Follow him on Twitter at @melvinblog. This article is part of the 4th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest, which was made possible thanks in large part to our Gold Sponsor, Jason Alba of JibberJobber. If you want Melvin Dichoso to win, share this article with your friends. If you liked this read, you'll also enjoy The Secret To Finding Dream Jobs.

Benefits of Writing Resume - How to Be Right for Your Job Search

Benefits of Writing Resume - How to Be Right for Your Job SearchThe benefits of writing resume are many. They can help you a lot in finding employment. You can be sure that employers will turn towards your resume if you were able to impress them. However, it is essential that you follow these guidelines while you write your resume.When writing resume, keep in mind that you must be sincere and straight to the point. You should keep the resume short and simple, so that it will not take too much time to write and read. In addition, keep the resume clear and readable.Once you have decided on the topics, make sure that you write all the main points very clearly. If you are writing a resume for placement at a specific organization, you can put down its name and the field where you are interested in. Write down your desired job title and ask your potential employer to tell you about your ability to do the job. Make sure that your resume is readable and easy to understand. Otherwise, the emp loyer may not be able to comprehend the details in your resume.When you choose a particular career, there are specific career paths that you need to know. Hence, it is better to follow the basics of your desired career. Also, keep in mind that you can refer to the association or the company that has a website to find the resume guidance.Your resume is a document that goes through all the formalities while being submitted to the employer, and therefore, ensure that you fill out all the application forms properly. Besides, fill out the forms correctly. This will ensure that you get into the interview without any hassles.Before you start writing your resume, make sure that you have a rough idea about the type of position you want to apply for. Always make sure that you include the basic facts about yourself, including the educational background and experience. This will help the employer to find out if you are the person who is qualified for the job.Do not hesitate to add information w hich you think will help you get into the job. A lot of times, the recruiter will seek for more information before the final hiring process. Therefore, give information that can help the employer decide whether you are the right candidate. For example, if you are trying to get into accountancy field, you can tell the employer that you are an accounting graduate.There are other benefits of writing resume but these few tips will help you get a glimpse of what it can do for you. Thus, do not forget to keep these things in mind when you write a resume. This way, you will be well on your way to find a suitable job.

Personal Brand Stereotypes #5 Only Punks Wear Mohawks - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Brand Stereotypes #5 Only Punks Wear Mohawks - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career As we continue with the many personal brand stereotypes that plague our culture, I hope youre being more observant as to people who are wearing pink shirts or glasses and are more understanding of their situation. No one wants to be made fun of or laughed at because of what they wear. People have the freedom and enjoyment of self-expression. I dont think I would ever see a large corporate environment hiring a hippie, without forcing them to conform. As we drift into the realm of gen-y, you will see different cultures emerge. Managers that are accepting of such stereotypes, as long as they produce. What I’ve posted about so far: #1 Tall people are basketball players #2 Glasses make you look smart #3 Men who wear pink are homosexual #4 The Hippie Phenomenon Today, the discussion follows all of those people who wear mohawks. I was thinking about doing this post last week and Natasha Vincent commented on my blog to remind me. A mohawk is a hairstyle, which consists of shaving either side of your head, leaving a strip of longer hair in the middle. When I say longer hair, I mean shot straight up at least 8 inches tall. The first word that comes to mind when I see someone wearing a mohawk is punk. The reason for this maybe that there was a massive punk subculture in the early 1980s and the mohawk was adopted by various other groups during this time. It is expected that an individual wearing a mohawk has a lot to maintain. There may be regular shaving to maintain a clear line down the center. I think you also need to put a lot of gel on to keep it straight up. Ive seen anywhere from short mohawks to ones that are various colors (maybe even rainbow). Analysis Ill admit it right now that Ive been to a punk concert, where Bad Religion and Rise Against played. Both are great bands, but it was a complete culture shock for me, as I was tossed into the mosh pit. It was almost like these people werent human, but monsters with the way they wore their hair. How could I possibly take them seriously? Well it didnt really matter at a punk rock concert, but I just couldnt imagine interviewing them for a job. Could you even picture someone with a mohawk on the other side of the table, while you read off their resume and ask them questions? Would you laugh and think to yourself I wish he put his picture on his resume so I could have eliminated him already? We talked about hippies already and how they made a choice and how they are unique in their own way, well a mohawk certainly makes you stand out, but maybe not for the right reasons. If you want a career as a professional skater then it might make sense and be acceptable. On the other hand, if you are looking to work for a technology company, I think it would be nearly impossible to get a job based on your hair. I know its crazy but its our culture and how we are perceived. If someone walked into my office with purple hair that would be weird enough, but a purple mohawk would be pushing it! Would you hire someone wearing a mohawk? Coming up next I really want to discuss why college students are forced to take entry-level positions. She must be an associate because she has no experienced and just graduated with a BS in marketing. There is a stereotype that people in gen-y have menial jobs. This is a stereotype of ageism and Ive experienced it many times, as Ive wrestled through the personal branding orchids (think sharp thorns). If you have any other ideas of what you want me to cover in this series, please leave a comment. Looking forward to unveiling more of these as we move forward.

Four Ways To Use Gmail To Build Your Network - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Four Ways To Use Gmail To Build Your Network - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Gmail may be the social networkers best friend, because nothing and I mean nothing, lets you connect so quickly, easily, and thoroughly with a new network like Gmail does. The free functions available For one thing, you can feed any email account into your Gmail account. I run my business account and three other personal email addresses out of my Gmail account, but the person on the other end never knows. Messages come in to my business address, and when I reply, they go out from my business address. For another, while I dont like their Contacts functionality (its basic, clunky, and non-customizable), Im willing to deal with it since their API is so widely used; I can upload my Gmail contacts with any network I join. Since those networks all search their own databases for people based on their email address, its an easy way to add my contacts. (A caveat: If there are people you dont want to connect with, please note that most networks dont give you the ability to pick and choose before you hit that final submit button. If you dont want to connect with a particular person â€" an ex, a boss, a co-worker you loathe and despise â€" you may want to delete their address from your list.) Here are four ways you can use Gmail and Google Contacts to build your network. Upload your Contacts list to your LinkedIn account. Connect with everyone you can or want (you can choose who you connect with here), and be sure to type a message that doesnt look like the generic message LinkedIn usually sends out. Then, export your LinkedIn contacts to your desktop (LinkedIn is the only social network that will let you do this), upload it to your Gmail account, and do a Find Merge Duplicates. Now your list of professional contacts will be clean, thorough, and complete. Do this about every 3 6 months. Sync your Gmail with any other email program you might use. If you have a work email, and if its possible, either sync it with your Gmail, or at least download the address book and upload it to Gmail. Do a Find Merge Duplicates to keep it cleaned out. Youll need to do this, because you never know when you… will no longer have access to your work email. If youve built up some good contacts, you dont want to lose those. Do this at least once a month. Get the Rapportive plugin. Rapportive works like the Find Your Friends feature on LinkedIn and other networks, only it does the searching on several different networks and pulls it in to your Gmail window. And since youve plugged in your own networks, it will look to see if youre connected on them; if youre not, you can connect right from there. You can also trick out your Rapportive profile to include your other profiles on YouTube, Blogger, Posterous, Flickr, and will even pull in your Klout score so other Rapportive users can see the myriad of places where you can be found. Rapportive works on Firefox, Safari, and Chrome, so if youre still using Internet Explorer, make the switch. If youve ever seen the email footers that include icons that link to different social networks, youve seen WiseStamp. You can link your profile URLs to the appropriate icons and have them appear at the very bottom of your footer, including LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, Google Calendar, FriendFeed, and even Delicious. Plus WiseStamp lets you put other text, including html code, into your footer. (I have a link to my book on Amazon.) Whenever you send an email, people can then connect with you at your other networks. This Gmail plugin works with Firefox and Chrome, and says its available for Safari, but its not available at the moment. However, if youre a Safari user, create your WiseStamp footer with Firefox or Chrome, and save it in your Gmail prefs. Then youll have access to it when you use Gmail in Safari. Theres a lot of added functionality that makes Gmail much more useful than all but the most robust email programs, thanks to Googles designers and the 3rd-party designers who create their own widgets and plugins. If you dont have a Gmail account, get one. If you have one, but you havent used it yet, fire it up. Its an extremely useful program, and best of all, its free. Author: Erik Deckers is the co-owner and VP of Creative Services for Professional Blog Service in Indianapolis. He has been blogging since 1997, has been a published writer for more than 24 years, and a newspaper humor columnist for 17 years. Erik co-authored Branding Yourself: Using Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (Pearson, 2010) and also helped write Twitter Marketing for Dummies.

The Marketing Resume With A Sales Background

The Marketing Resume With A Sales BackgroundWriting a marketing resume with a sales background is like putting lipstick on a pig. In order to make it look good you need to know the 'piggy' inside out, so let's take a look inside.First of all, when you are writing a marketing resume with a sales background you need to understand that the marketing aspect of your business is not necessarily the reason why you are applying for the job. The sales are what you are after. You need to understand that a person doesn't want to be sold to, they want to be motivated.Sales-focused resumes are best for those who will be a part of the sales team and are trying to become more than just a generalist. This means that you have to include all aspects of the business, including customer service. With a sales-focused resume, you must include not only sales experience but customer service experience as well. You also want to include everything about the business from the first time you heard about it to t he last time you used it.A sales-focused resume needs to contain references from past customers. All of them must be current and recent. If you don't have direct contact with customers during the course of your sales career, use a service that provides information on current customers and their experiences. A website such as this can provide a source of references that will help you create a list of the most qualified leads.As you list the names of past customers, you will also want to include any customer service issues that you may have had during your sales career. Again, the customer service issues that should be included are those that came up while dealing with current customers. A great way to deal with issues that may come up when customers are contacting you regarding your services is to post a sign in the lobby. Customers will appreciate the quick and easy solution.One thing that many people overlook when writing a marketing resume with a sales background references that d o not come from a company owner. References from suppliers and distributors will ensure that you know a bit about the company and it's products. However, you should not limit yourself to one or two people that come directly from the company.Marketing is a broad field. You should seek out a good list of references from more than one source. An example of this would be if you are applying for a sales manager position, instead of only getting one or two high level references from a big name company you should get a couple of high level ones from different sources. This will help to increase your chances of getting the job.Writing a marketing resume with a sales background is tough because you are listing your experiences as someone who has recently made a lot of money. However, if you focus on providing the best possible customer service, especially with new customers, and provide references from people who have dealt with your current customers, you will be well on your way to a succe ssful marketing career. Just be sure that you have enough knowledge about the field to be able to properly answer questions from your potential clients.

8 fire careers lessons we can learn from Beyoncé - Debut

8 fire careers lessons we can learn from Beyoncé - Debut This post is written by a member of the Debut Student Publisher Network. Read on for Tashas  thoughts on careers lessons we can learn from Beyoncé:   Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Shes an artist, a mogul, a boss-ass b**** and an all-round inspiration. Here are some things we can learn from one and only Queen Bey on how we can further ourselves in our careers. Stay gracious, peeps. 1. Always be resilient, don’t give up on your dreams 23 years ago, a pint-sized Beyoncé was part of girl group Girls Tyme and competed in Star Search, a popular TV talent show. Later on, she would say that this was a a  â€˜defining moment’ in her childhood. Why? Because Girls Tyme lost. She learnt that  â€œyou could work super hard and give everything you have and lose. So, accept that part of the journey  sometimes involves not winning. You’ll face rejection, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not good enough.It just means that this  particular winning  title wasn’t the one meant for you. 2. Don’t limit yourself Beyoncé doesnt sleep on the success of her previous albums. Every record shes released has seen her pushing harder, innovating and setting the bar higher each time. It’s for that very reason it makes the world go nuts every time she drops a bomb track. 3. Assert yourself When Beyoncé  said“I’m not bossy. I’m the boss, she taught  us to not be afraid of labels. Don’t be afraid to be a leader in the fear of other people’s judgement when you know you’re capable of getting the job done. Be fearless. 4. Dont be afraid, be a diva In her hit Diva, Queen Bey proclaims  â€˜a diva is a female version of a hustler’. Be prepared to hustle in order to get what you want out of your career. 5. Believe in yourself even if no one else does After the disbandment of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé had trouble convincing executives at Columbia Records to release her debut album. In 2003, I had my first solo album. But when I played it through for my record label, they told me I didnt have one hit on my album, she recalled. I guess they were kinda right. I had five.” Which just goes to show, never doubt in your abilities and keep believing in your work even if no one else does! 6. Have an alter ego to channel in those moments for when you don’t feel confident You may be having a sucky day but you have to give a presentation and you’re just not feeling 100%. Beyoncé created her own alter ego, Sasha Fierce as a way to feel fearless and confident on stage when performing. So, create your own Sasha Fierce to channel for those moments and the confidence within yourself will surely follow afterwards. 7. Be prepared to make sacrifices for the dream, it’s all a part of the process Beyoncé  works tirelessly in order to reach her dreams, dedicating  her whole life to her singing career. Whether it was going on the road to perform to attending a performing arts school to performing in the church choir, the artist sacrificed a normal childhood for her ambition. As Bey shows us, we have to be fully invested to be the best at what we do. No pain, no gain. 8. Make your health a priority Beyoncés protegé, Sophie Beem revealed that Beyoncé’s best kept secret behind her killer performances is to run and sing on the treadmill daily. This apparently  builds your stamina so you’re able to sing and dance at the same time. Having a healthy regime is a surefire way to enable you to be able to perform your best flawlessly. Were not telling you to channel her Ivy Park line, but it probably wouldnt hurt. Follow Tasha  on Twitter @tasha_okeke Connect with Debut on  Facebook  and  Twitter

Succeeding in the Job Search Today [INFOGRAPHIC] - CareerEnlightenment.com

What do you think?  What are some other ways to succeed in the job search?

Personality and work environment go hand in hand - Hallie Crawford

Personality and work environment go hand in hand Your work environment is a make-it or break-it for your career satisfaction. You can love what you do, the tasks you perform and the work. But if you dislike your work environment, your boss or your peers, it can have an extremely negative impact on your job satisfaction. Ive had many career coaching clients who enjoy their work only to leave for another company or another type of role in their industry in order to escape a bad environment. Strongly consider this when youre researching a company or an industry. Glassdoor.com is one place to look. Conducting informational interviews with people at the company is another way to gather information. Also, in order to know the right work environment, one thing you need to be clear about is your personality type. For example, if you are an introvert you probably need a work environment thats quieter and doesnt require group meetings constantly. Maybe you are more of a detailed oriented person who thrives on specific guidelines and expectations for how to do your job. Or you might be more of a fly by the seat of your pants person who wants to make it up as they go along. I was thrilled to receive an email from my career coaching client, Barbara, in California. She shared with me how helpful taking the iPersonic Personality Type assessment was to her. Barbara was surprised to see how dead on the assessment was and how precise it was at describing the type of work environment she would thrive in. She said that this was the icing on the cake at this point in her career journey! There are many tests you can take online to help you figure this out (iPersonic is one of them). Take the time to understand yourself in order to land in the right place. Its well worth the time and effort! Ideal Career Coach P.S. Get one of the most information-rich career newsletters on the web delivered straight to your email inbox! Check out our  Free Newsletter  to help you along your career journey today!