BEING PREPARED FOR THE NEW YEAR
by Tara West

Are you thinking about making a career move?  Or unsure how stable your job is going to be in 2009? December and early January is a perfect time to organise for the 2009 job hunt! You'll notice job advertisements start to ramp up in the third / fourth week of January.  

To be successful in gaining a high rate of interviews, it's important that your resume is well tuned for your new job hunt – after all, a well prepared resume which demonstrates your strengths and markets your true potential will certainly be impressive and prove to the hiring manager that you are serious about employment with their company.  In particular, given our changing job market in the year ahead, the way you market your true worth and capabilities to the recruiter may very well be the definitive point in gaining a position you desire.

A resume which has been slapped together in a hurry, contains old or outdated information, and / or a focus for the type of job you applied for 10 yeas ago won't get you an interview - well, it may get you an interview, but you will be sitting on the 'no' pile more often than the 'yes' pile. 

Do you want a position in a few weeks or a few months?

Your resume should be an ever-evolving tool, therefore careful consideration should be taken on what you need to include and how you need to structure your resume for the type of roles you are seeking.  Factors to take into consideration are: 

• Your contact details – have you changed address, mobile or email address?  If the positions you are applying for rely on a licence – such as Heavy Rigid – is this included?
• Have you finished a position and started another which needs adding to the resume?  You will need to put a completion date for the last role and an entry for the new position.
• Have your goals changed?  Wanting to change career direction?  You will need to alter your profile and more than likely your key attributes.  Likewise, some, if not most, information will need adjusting to reflect a clear focus for the roles you now seek – i.e. some information will need toning down / condensing, whilst other information will need highlighting.  Consider altering the order of relevance.
• If you haven't been standing still in your organisation, chances are you will have some achievements that need inserting.  This also applies to those individuals who are in project-based professions. Therefore, you will need to update your resume with your new achievements and / or projects.
• Ensure your referees are current.  Is your referee still a manager at XYZ Company? Is their mobile and email address the same?  Indeed, are they still willing to act as your referee? There would be nothing worse than a prospective employer contacting a referee for a glowing reference and they’re no longer available or don't want to give out a reference.
• Have you updated your skills with some additional training? If yes, you need to include the name of the course that you completed, the training provider, and the date completed.  This also applies to new technical skills that you may have gained… update your key technical skills section.

Of course, never forget the complementary role a covering letter plays – this too needs work! It is imperative that each and every requirement listed in the job advert is addressed in your cover letter; it's therefore very rare that the one cover letter will suffice for all positions. 

Both the resume and cover letter should be reviewed and tweaked for each role... no matter how time consuming this may be. Some thought and time spent in preparing your application will be rewarded by your high interview success!

Aside from updating your resume and cover letter, you may also want to consider brushing up on your interview skills.  The role of the resume / cover letter is to sell your abilities sight unseen; never lose sight of the fact that your resume and cover letter is a marketing document.

The same can be said about YOU and the way you sell yourself at interview.  If you're looking for a job, then you're in the selling game and it needs to be looked at in this way.  How are you packaging yourself for the interview?  How are you coming across to the hiring manager?  Are you saying the right thing?  The picture you project - starting from the way you dress and shake the recruiter's hand, to the words that come out of your mouth - can make or break your chance of gaining that job. 

Once the resume and cover letter have got you over the line and in the door for an interview, don't waste this opportunity because your interview skills let you down.

• Check out our specialised Interview Coaching service by visiting www.aussieresumes.com/coach - for a limited time you can receive $30 off the normal fee.

If you're unsure what to include in your resume / cover letter or unsure how to structure and tailor it for the roles you are seeking, check out the following services:

• Get a resume written by Aussie Resumes: www.aussieresumes.com/resume-writing.htm

• Write your own resume with the help of software written and developed by Aussie Resumes: www.aussieresumes.com/software.htm

• Get your existing resume critiqued by a career expert: www.aussieresumes.com/resume-paidcritique.htm

• Get your cover letter critiqued by a career expert: www.aussieresumes.com/letter-critique.htm

• Get a cover letter written: www.aussieresumes.com/letter-writing.htm

All the very best in your job hunting!  :-)