6 Tips For Finding The Right Job For You

There was once a time when a person would begin a career and retire from it approximately 40 or 50 years later. Today, we live in a world where career changes happen a whole lot more often. In some cases, career transitions become necessities in order to address the changes that may be occurring in our personal lives. A long term illness or injury is certainly a reason that many people use to consider moving from one career to another.

If the time for change becomes necessary due to one’s physical limitations, it’s important to consider what they are before looking for a new job. At Independence Incorporated, we offer a Job Search Assistance Program that is tailored to the needs of each individual client. The program includes regular client meetings to establish responsibilities and obligations, résumé preparation and a daily review of offline and online classified employment ads.

Here are six tips for finding the right job for you:

1. Focus your job search. Locating the ideal job for you begins with knowing exactly what it is you are interested in doing. With online listings being so prevalent these days, narrowing your search by using specific key words in search engines should help you to locate the opportunities that best suit your needs and skill set. “Narrowing your search criteria will help you focus your job search and will give you more relevant job listings to review and less non-relevant job listings to weed through,” writes Alison Doyle on About.com.

2. Seek to develop new skills. Perhaps, you’re looking to completely change your career path. If so, some new training may be in order. You’re never too old to learn new tricks! Mary Eileen Williams of The Huffington Post recommends that you take a class at a community college or senior centre. “You will not only gain the necessary knowledge (you can add this to your résumé),” she writes, but “you will also be able to network with your fellow students and the instructor.”

3. Do some volunteer work. There are few things on a résumé that seem to impress employers more than the experience you have in a related work field. Especially if you are entering into an unfamiliar industry, it will pay dividends to get some experience through volunteer work. “The very act of serving others will raise your feelings of wellbeing,” believes Williams, “Even more, because you will be volunteering in a field associated with your own, your new connections are likely to lead to unexpected opportunities and liaisons.”

4. Join a job search group. It certainly can’t hurt you to be around other people who are going through the same situation as you are. This is especially true if the entire job search process is bringing you some anxiety. Joining a job search group “will go a long way to lesson any feelings of isolation you may be experiencing,” says Williams, “In addition, you will have opportunities to share job search tips, exchange leads, and provide emotional support.”

5. Target your résumé and cover letter. Once you’ve narrowed your search to the job opportunities that you feel you are best suited for, be sure to prepare a résumé that speaks to that industry. “It’s important to take the time to write targeted résumés and cover letters that specifically link your qualifications to the hiring criteria for the jobs you are applying for,” insists Doyle, “The hiring manager will be able to see, at a glance, why, and how, you are qualified for the job.” Generic résumés, she believes, aren’t likely to impress.

6. Nail the job interview. Of course, your résumé and cover letter should help you get your foot through the door. But once that happens, you don’t want to put your foot in your mouth! It’s important to research the company that is interviewing you before you meet its hiring manager. As well, “dress appropriately, practice answering and asking interview questions, and make a concerted effort to impress the interviewer with your skills, experience, confidence, and expertise,” advises Doyle.

Good luck!