The job market has been changed in many ways in a short time. A few of the more dramatic changes is how one does job searches, resumes and interviews. Along with the job searching, career management has undergone an upgrade as well. Today’s job searchers are competing against hundreds sometimes thousands of other job seekers where in years past the competition had fewer applicants.
What is the most competitive way to search out and grab the job and or the career one wants? A new book by bestselling author Martin Yate, Knock ‘em Dead Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World, walks readers through developing an effective plan to get the job desired.
Professional Persona
Yate calls his book “a complete career management makeover” to organize and execute a job search or a for a fresh start when just getting a new job. He suggests that readers create a company called MeInc and think, act and plan as if they are a business. Yate includes suggestions and tips throughout the book from 43 career management experts.
One of the first ideas Yate introduces is the behavioral profile or professional persona that each reader develops to survive the professional world. The professional persona has a set of transferrable skills and professional values that can be highlighted and promoted when job searching and interviewing.
Taking Control of Job Search and Career
The author bases the entire book on harnessing and using a professional persona to effectively search, apply and interview for a particular job. The author believes the techniques work whether one is applying for a different job or a promotion within a company or if the reader is unemployed and searching for a new job or career.
The book details how to use many traditional job search tools in a modern day fashion. One topic he spends a lot of print on is writing a resume for the current job market. He suggests several options for preparing an effective resume including:
- How to treat the resume as a financial document.
- What is important to include in a resume for today’s job market.
- How people or employers read resumes.
- The five rules for building a good resume.
- The proper length of a resume.
- How to use the cover letter as an executive briefing tool.
Other items Yate details is how to build and use the right social networks, job sites, resume banks and headhunters. He also tells readers how to look for the hidden jobs that companies have openings for but may not advertise.
Interview Kit
Yate moves on from the resume to interviewing and presenting oneself in a job interview. He gives reasonable tips for dealing with nervousness and fear when going into a company for an interview. Yate provides tips on dress and grooming, first impressions and the five secrets of the hiring process.
He also provides a list of potential responses to those pesky interview questions that so many people freeze up when asked. One highly interesting tip Yate tells readers is to develop an “interview kit.”
Interview kits include the following:
- printed copies of resume
- a folder with a pen and paper
- references
- a list of job-related questions to ask the interviewer about the company
- printed copies of any industry-related articles that may be of interest to the interviewer
- directions to the interview
- any notes or information about the company
Managing the New Job
The book also includes tips on managing the job once one gets the job. There is a section on climbing the ladder of success, career management along with retirement planning and a section on building a successful life.
The author has plenty of experience in career management having written a “perennial bestselling career management book” that has sold over 5 million copies over the years. According to his website, he has over 30 years of experience in career management. His latest version of the career guide should prove helpful to readers.
Source:
- Yate, Martin. Knock ‘em Dead Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World. Adams Media, 2011. ISBN: 1-4405-0650-7
