Career Enhancement

CAREER ENHANCEMENT

BOOKLET

By

EDWARD M. JOYNER

VOCATIONAL TRAINING COORDINATOR

How to Guide on:

· Choosing a Career

· Preparing a Resume

· Preparing for a job Interview

CHOOSING YOUR CAREER

Planning Your Future

You must put considerable time, effort, and thought into getting a job if you want to have a rewarding and fulfilling work life. Think about your life, your interests, things you are good at (and those you are not) and the experience that have given you the most satisfaction. These make sound career decisions. I am sure as DCC graduate you made many important decisions during your life, such as choosing the College, selecting your Major, and changing major at least once in your college life. Therefore, choosing your career will be another important decision you have to make.

SELF ANALYSIS

You must do some research to decide what type of job you want to have. Take some time to answer these questions.

Which courses have you enjoyed most and least in school?

Recalling projects, on which you have worked in class, in companies or at work which ones did you like or dislike?

· Do you enjoy working most with records, people, ideas, or things?

· Do you enjoy working more with your mind, or with your body?

· Do you prefer working independently on a project, or with a team?

· How important to you is being your own boss?

· In what type of work office setting do you function best: a quiet office, an environment with a lot of activity and people, or outside locations?

· What type of work schedules would you prefer: fixed or flexible? Would you enjoy working days, nights, or even weekends, how eager are you to work overtime?

· What is important about the geographical location of your job in terms of climate, size of area and location? Do prefer a particular city, region, etc.?

· For what kind of organization would like to work, large or small, established or new? Commercial or government, or nonprofit?

· With whom you would like to work?

· How would you like to dress for work?

· What types of material rewards are important for you in terms of salary, commissions, fringe benefits, security?

· What about job training?

· What are your career goals five years after graduating from college?

Your answer to these questions will help you identify the type of career that would offer you the most satisfaction and success.

MANY JOBS ARE AVAILABLE

Armed with your self-assessment, you should secure additional information – about possible occupation, demographic trends, and industries and companies that are interested. You should ask current employees (the nature of work, working condition, job outlook, etc.). You have to know about the job trends and industry and company information. You have to use your network to get information about jobs available. This search can start with your friends, family, professor, college alumni, or with a personal or professional connection.

Good luck with your job search

WHAT IS A RESUME?

Preparing Your Resume

A resume is a brief record of one’s personal history and qualifications that is typically prepared by an applicant for a job. (What I have learned and what I have done).

The emphasis should be in the future rather than the past; you must show how your education and work experience have prepared you for future jobs. Be realistic about the purpose of your resume. The purpose of the resume is to get you an interview, and the purpose of the interview is to get you a job. A resume is your way to an interview, most of the time it’s the first line of contact. It gives the first impression. And you should write it well, it will give a positive impression of yourself.

If you write your resume in a professional way, it will help convince the company that you are the ideal candidate for the position. The job of the resume is to secure for you an interview.

Research and experience shows us here in Saudi Arabia that for each available job opening there might be as many as 50 to 3000 resumes submitted. Therefore your resume should convey your hiring value over a competing individual for the position.

The layout of your resume is also extremely important. Your resume needs to maintain a professional and “clean” appearance. It should allow the reader to access the information quickly. Neat margins, adequate “white space” between groupings, and indenting to highlight text, aid the ease of reference to the material. Use “bolding’ and italics sparingly. Overuse of these types of highlighting features diminishes their effectiveness in promoting the material they highlight.

The contact information (how the reader can reach you) is in essence, the most important information in the entire document. Make certain your name, address, phone number, and email address are clearly visible and at the top of your document.

You should also pay close attention to your format and layout so that you make effectiveness use of the space available to you on the page.

Don’t include any negative material on your resume at all. If that’s not possible, try to soften the negative impact as much as possible.

Watch your wording when describing your work experience. Be positive and confident, but not smug.

Don’t guess. If you’re not sure about your dates of employment or any other information on your resume, check it. One inaccuracy on your resume can make the rest of your information suspect. Check very carefully for grammatical and spelling errors. Honesty is even more important than accuracy, so be careful about telling the truth. You might be able to talk your way out of an honest mistake, but if you’re caught in a lie, you’re finished.

First make sure everything on your resume has a good reason for being there. Second, make sure everything on your resume is arranged in an orderly and logical manner. Present your most important information first and follow through with the rest of your information in descending order of importance.

Regardless of what your resume says, if it doesn’t look nice, you’re in trouble. It should be laser printed on good quality paper, with text arranged in a pleasant manner. It should be prepared in a typeface size that is easy to read (preferable 12 point, but no smaller than 10 point).

RESUME LENGTH

Think about the person receiving your resume. He spends no more than 30 seconds looking at each resume during the initial screening. How much information recruiters are expected to read in less than a minute? Get to the point and say goodbye. Companies want to hire you not marry you!

Many students are confused about how much is too much. And they think the thicker the resume, the more impressive the applicant? This is not true. Managers prefer a one-page resume for entry-level positions, and two pages for unusual circumstances. Too much information is as bad as too little.

Your resume must be attractive, easy to read and concise, but a resume that does not fill one page may tell the employer that you have little to offer.

Focus on your accomplishments and achievements. Tell prospective employers what you’ve done in your past and current jobs.

RESUME FORMAT

The content of your resume is more important than the format, but first impressions are lasting. Before you begin writing your resume, think about the format, because some format decisions will affect the amount of space available to present your qualifications and background.

· Customize your resume for each employment opportunity

· Print your resume on a laser printer

· Use different type of faces and different size and style of make different parts standout

· Choose simple, easy-to-read typeface

· Avoid special effects

· Use a simple format with lots of white space

· Use short paragraphs

· Use logical organization

· Format your resume on standard-sized paper (81/2 by 11 inches, or A4) so it can be filed easily

· Avoid brightly colored papers

· Dark colors do not photocopy well

· Choose white or an off-white (create)

· Use paper of good quality, 20-pound bond

· Present a professional, conservative appearance

· Your resume should 100% free from error – in content, spelling, grammar, and format.

RESUME CONTENT

· There is no such thing as a standard resume

· But there are standard parts of a resume

INFORMATION SHOULD THAT BE INCLUDED ON A RESUME

· Name, address, and telephone number

· Job objective

· College major, degree, name of college, and date of graduation

· Jobs held, employing company or companies (but not complete mailing address or the name of your supervisor).

INFORMATION WANTED ON A RESUME

· Dates of employment, and job duties

· Special aptitudes and skills

· email address

INFORMATION NOT WANTED ON A RESUME

You should not include any information related to bases for discrimination such as:

· religion

· age

· gender

· photograph

· marital status

· high school activities

(Note: I am not sure about this information in Saudi regulations)

IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

Your name and your address including your phone number are crucial. Your name should be the very first item on the resume arranged attractively at the top. Use your complete name, avoiding any nicknames. Do not use a personal title such as Mr. a.

It is not necessary to include the heading “Resume” at the top (if your name is the heading, it stands out in the recruiter’s minds).

If you will soon be changing your address, include both your old and new addresses, along with the relevant dates.

If you will soon be changing your address, include both your old and new addresses, along with the relevant dates.

If you will be away from your phone, get an answering machine (to enable people to contact you).

JOB OBJECTIVE

The Job Objective section is a short summary of your area of expertise and career interest. Recruiters want the objective stated so that they will know where you might fit into their organization.

The objective must be personalized – both for you and for the position you are seeking and it must be specific enough to be useful to the employer, but not so specific as to exclude you from many types of similar position.

EDUCATION

Unless your work experience has been extensive, and directly related to your job objective, your education is probably a stronger job qualification, therefore it should come first in your resume. List the title of your degree, the name of your college, your major, and expected date of graduation (month and year).

List your GPA if it will set you apart from the competition (at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale).

If you have made the dean’s list include it. Unless your course of study provides distinctive experience that uniquely qualifies you for the job, avoid including a lengthy list of college courses.

WORK EXPERIENCE

A list of any work experience-is a plus. If your work experience has been directly related to your job objective put it ahead of the education section. Include skills you have developed (human relations, communication skills) and show the employer you have the ability to work well with others (your communication skills). Competence and good judgment innovation and computer knowledge are assets that can be included on your resume.

In relating your work experience use either

Chronological Organization

Organize your experience by date, describing your most recent job first and working backward

Function and Organization

Organize it by type of function performed (such as supervisor or budgeting)

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

· Foreign language

· Competence in common software programs such spreadsheets, work processing (non-business major)

· Include any honors or recognition that have relevance to the job you are seeking

· Membership in business related organization

· Involvement in volunteer

· Include your hobbies and special interest

· Travel experience

· Willingness to travel.

REFERENCES

A reference is a person who has agreed to provide information to a prospective employer regarding a job applicant’s fitness for a job.

The name and address of references should not be included on the resume itself. You may add (references are available upon request).

Your references should be professional references (University Professor with whom you have had a close and successful relationship).

ELECTRONIC RESUMES

An electronic resume is a resume that is stored in a computer database designed to help manage and initially screen the job applicant.

The applicant may mail or fax a paper of their standard resume, which is then scanned into a database.

On interviews, always bring along fresh copies of your resume.

Sample Resumes Below:

Muhammed A. Dawud

Saudi Arabia Tel: (+966) 03-8560162

SAIHAT, 31972 Mobile: (+966) 0502258012

P.O. Box: 1230 E-mail:

Personal:

Nationality : Saudi

Date of Birth : 17/04/1406 H Place of Birth : Saihat, /Saudi Arabia

Marital Status : Single Languages : Arabic & English

Objective:

Seeking a long-term career that utilizes & extends my knowledge & capability in computer related fields, in addition to gain more knowledge in maintenance repair activities.

Education:

Associate Degree (Computer Applications): September 2003 - June 2006

Dammam Community College - Branch of King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Computer Related Courses:

o Introduction to Programming (VB.NET).

o PC Maintenance & Troubleshooting (A+ Certification).

o Microsoft Office 2003 (Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

o Keyboarding (English).

o Introduction to Web Authoring & Design (ASP.NET).

o Introduction to Networking.

o Windows Server 2003.

o Business Communications.

o Human Relations & Psychology.

Experience

o Summer Internship Program for 8 weeks (June 25, 2005 to August 18, 2005) in Saudi Electricity Company (SCECO) Projects Division. During this program I learned how to deal with the Users Accounts on the server and design a web applications and pages.

o I made a web forum to the my college www.dccnet.net that to help the students to share their experience together.

Other:

Skills:

o Very good English (reading, writing, speaking)

o Keyboarding Speed (more than 40 w/m).

o Computer maintenance and dealing with the hardware

o Creating a Wireless networks

Hobbies:

o Cars and their high performance engine

o Design and drawing by computer (Photoshop, 3D studio max)

Interests:

o Improving my computer skills & capability

o Learning new & interesting issues related to computer

o Maintenance Repair Activities (Mechanical and Electrical).

References Available Upon Request