Focusing on one job objective at a time will help you to avoid feeling scattered or confused. It
will save you time, money and heartburn. Focus first on the job objective that you believe has the
best probability of paying off in a job offer.
As a resume writer, I once helped a Japanese engineer find a job. I suggested to him that rather than write one general resume trying to cover the range of his vast experiences all over the world, that he would fax or email to me each ad he wanted to answer and that I would individualize each cover letter and resume for that particular ad. I wrote six cover letters and six resumes for him. He sent them all out. About 30 days later he telephoned me from Tokyo to tell me that he was invited to
five interviews out of the six companies contacted and that he ultimately accepted a position at twice his anticipated salary and was relocating to United Arab Emirates. The fee he paid me for the special arrangements were well worth it! The point is that you need two or three resumes.
Do not worry about the styles of the resumes. There is NO one style for you. You are out of work or in need of a job. You must be flexible. Stay focused on each job opportunity. There is little to be gained by scattering the same resume among an assortment of different companies.
On a scale of one to ten, the best resume is one written for a specific job and company. At the bottom of the scale is the general resume written to mail indiscriminately to all types of firms, regardless of the position open or the nature of the business.
Employers today want to know concrete things about you, and what you can produce. Most résumés today are filed.
ATTITUDE MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Developing an enthusiastic, positive attitude is, unquestionably, the first thing to do in starting
your job search. This can be a marvelous journey for you, the chance to revive your career, to find the job that is ideal for which your talents, skills and abilities are uniquely suited. Your attitude will be a major determinant of your success. You must first be sold on yourself in order to be convincing to others who are in a position to help or hire you. The keys to a positive attitude are self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-knowledge. Let's look briefly at each of these:
Self-esteem
Reflect on your successes and the many skills and abilities you used to achieve them.
Self-confidence
Think of all the things you know how to do, the technical capabilities you have, the contributions
you are capable of making to a business or other enterprise, and the many personal attributes or traits that distinguish you as a vital person.
Self-knowledge
Think of who you really are and what you have become over the years, how you have developed;
what motivates you, drives you, interests you; how you would describe yourself in terms of style and personality; what you most like to do and what you do best, better than anyone else you know.
Your attitude, history and purpose will only be satisfactorily reflected in your resume if you have thought out your process and committed yourself to this new adventure of finding the job you really want.
SET GOALS
For you to pace your job search activities in a realistic and productive manner, and to organize
what is going to become your "guerrilla" campaign for a new job, you must have goals. Your goals
must be specific to assist you in focusing on the type of business or industry in which you are most
likely to find a job and the characteristics of the type of company you prefer. For example, the size
and location of the company, the type of business activity, and other related issues must be decided
by you early so that you do not waste your time.
Stay focused!
