#MotivationMonday: 5 Tips To Stay Positive And Motivated While Job Searching

At the start of a job search, you may feel hopeful and excited about what potential opportunities may lie ahead, but many job seekers easily fall into a slump as time passes. Job searching is no quick process — calls don’t necessarily come after you’ve submitted your resume; a second round of interviewing may end there; and even when it’s between you and one other candidate, the job offer may wind up going to the other person.

Any of these scenarios can reasonably bring an individual down, but here’s what you can do to fight through it and keep going with even more empowerment.

Stay positive and motivated during the job search by:

1. Coming up with job search goals.

Treat your job search as a project with tangible goals. Figure out how many hours per week you will be focusing on the job search and assign the hours to specific tasks with related goals. For example, 10 hours will be spent networking with the goal of connecting with five people per week. Having weekly tasks and goals keeps you focused.

2. Not getting lazy.

Just because you don’t have a job to go to doesn’t mean you should lounge around. Aim to make things happen! Treat job searching like your full-time job. Before getting the day started, freshen yourself up as you would for work and stick to a routine for job searching.

You may start the day with checking email, making phone calls, then applying to jobs by lunch and leaving the afternoon to networking with others and researching for other job opportunities. When you stick to a schedule, you work more efficiently and there’s less of a chance for you to get lazy.

3. Re-examining your resume and LinkedIn profile.

If you haven’t updated your resume in a while or it’s not bringing in results you want, it’s time to re-examine it. Same goes with your LinkedIn profile. When you do, you build stronger tools to work with in your job search and you will feel a greater sense of confidence.

4. Networking with others.

Job networking has a greater effectiveness rate at helping you find a job than other methods like the job boards and recruiters. It can also help you stay motivated. When you talk to others in the field asking for advice, it can feel like you’re getting closer to where you want to be because you have connections with insiders. Often, your job network can also share with you similar challenges they may have faced and offer insight to how they went about the situation, which in turn helps you reflect and react appropriately.

5. Doing something on the side while unemployed.

When the job search begins to feel like it’s dragging on, look to do something on the side that may help you maintain your skills or help you build new skills that will be helpful on the next job. Whether it’s volunteering a few hours a week, taking on temp work, or taking a class, it can help give you a lift or inspiration to stay motivated. It also gives you something to add to the resume so it doesn’t look like you did diddly-squat while unemployed.

Finding a new job takes hard work, and finding a new job that you will love will take extra patience. Utilize these tips to help keep you going. Soon before you know it, the right job offer will come through!

Source: Don Goodman, http://www.careerealism.com/positive-motivated-job-searching/

#MotivationMonday: 5 Quotes to Get Your Work Week Started Right

Good morning and happy Monday! It’s time to kick off the week with some motivation.

Here are five quotes that will keep you going for the rest of the week:

1. Either you run the day, or the day runs you. –Jim Rohn

2. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own. –Mark Victor Hansen

3. Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential. –John Maxwell

4. Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.–Mario Andretti

5. “Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses… on your powers, instead of your problems.” –Paul J. Meyer

Have a fantastic week!

If you currently have accounting & finance staffing needs or are seeking employment, please contact me dvelasquez@cfstaffing.com.

Sources:
Top 100 Inspirational Quotes, Kevin Kruse, http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/28/inspirational-quotes
50 Motivational Quotes That Will Put Your Motivation on Overdrive, Pawel Reszka, http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/50-motivational-quotes-that-will-put-your-motivation-on-overdrive.html

#MotivationMonday: “What motivates you?” Tricky interview question

You are particularly likely to be asked about your motivation in a strengths-based interview. Find out what recruiters are looking for and what you should avoid in your answer.

The current vogue in the graduate recruitment world for strengths-based interviews (which focus on what you enjoy doing and what you do well) means that you’re more likely to come across this old interview question than ever before. This question is one that throws many candidates because it is very broad and easy to misinterpret.

What the interview question ‘what motivates you?’ is not asking you

This question is not asking you:

• What are your motivations for applying for the job?
• What are your career goals and aspirations?

At least, it’s not asking you these things directly, although you can touch on them in your answer. It is asking you: what motivates you in life in general? What (apart from a loud alarm clock and a cup of industrial-strength tea) gets you out of bed in the morning?

Why are recruiters asking you about what motivates you?

This question helps recruiters to find out more about you as a person. Your answer can give them some insight into:

• What makes you tick
• What you enjoy doing and what you value
• Whether you would do well in the job role
• How you would fit into their team.

How to approach the graduate interview question ‘what motivates you?’

The best answers to these questions are honest and yet should also connect to the job you are going for; they should strongly suggest that you would be highly motivated by and suited to the work.

So, when preparing to answer this question, you should think about:

• What do you enjoy doing? Think about your course and your wider interests. What do they have in common?
• What have you enjoyed while working at your part-time jobs or internships?
• What sort of tasks are you best at? In what sort of environments (busy, dead-line driven, loud, quiet etc) do you work the best?

For example, are you well-suited to working as part of a team? Do you work at your best when you have an imminent deadline or do you crumble?

Then think about:

• The skills sought by the employer and the nature of the job you will be doing.

Good answers to the question ‘what motivates you?’

It’s all in the detail. Whatever you say, you need to back it up with examples from your studies, work experience and/or extra-curricular activities, and it should relate to the skills and aptitudes required for the job you’re going for.

So, for example, when one of our newest trainee editors was asked this question at interview she answered: ‘I am motivated by meeting set targets within deadlines, as it gives me a sense of accomplishment and it’s something that I can look back on and say “I achieved that”. I’m also motivated by visible results – for example, when I wrote an article for my student newspaper, I got a sense of accomplishment from knowing that up to 16,000 students would read it.’

This was a good answer because:

• It fitted the type of work we do here: the work we do is deadline driven and it is visible (it will be seen by students)
• She came across as truthful and self-aware: she knows that she is motivated by whether her work will be seen, not just by the work itself
• Her example indicated that she had relevant work experience, which is always an added bonus.

If you were going for a job that was highly target driven and competitive, such as a sales role, an answer along the lines of smashing targets, attaining financial rewards and being the best wouldn’t be out of order.

If you currently have accounting & finance staffing needs or are seeking employment, please contact me dvelasquez@cfstaffing.com.

Article source: https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/interview-questions/320333-what-motivates-you-tricky-graduate-interview-question

#MotivationMonday: 7 Tools Every Job Seeker Needs

If you are considering a job hunt or revamping your current search in 2015, these are the tools and apps you need to succeed in finding your next opportunity:

1. Email signature. Your email signature is possibly one of the most important branding tools you’re not taking advantage of. It’s your chance to let everyone know what your expertise is, how to contact you and where to learn more about you online. Employees are often required to add the company logo, tag line and contact information to email signatures. As job seekers, an email signature is a subtle way to remind people what you do.

Quick tips: The most important information to include is your name, phone number, email address, desired occupation and link to your LinkedIn profile. An easy solution is to use an app like WiseStamp to create and insert your signature.

2. Active and robust LinkedIn presence. LinkedIn has become a go-to source for companies of all sizes to seek out talent. While your profile will be similar to your résumé, it is not exactly the same. LinkedIn is a social network where people share information. Besides having a profile rich in content and media, you should also share newsworthy articles to help build your online reputation and stay connected with your network.

Quick tips: You must have a headshot, a headline that describes what you do and a summary where you tell your story. But don’t stop there. Embed a presentation that summarizes your experience or includes testimonials. Have you downloaded the SlideShare app for LinkedIn? What about the LinkedIn Connected or Pulse apps? ​These tools give you a better mobile LinkedIn experience.

3. An easily accessible, on-the-go résumé. There will be occasions when someone wants you to send your résumé ASAP or when you arrive at an interview and your résumé is MIA. Save your résumés so you can easily access them and share them from your mobile device.

Quick tip: Being able to access important documents from anywhere is critical not only in your job search, but at work, too. Learn how to save and share documents using Dropbox or Google Drive, which provide free storage and are easily accessible from any device.

4. Business cards. This may seem old-fashioned, but business cards make life easier. When you meet someone new or reconnect with an old friend, just hand him or her your card at the end of the conversation.

Quick tip: Your business card need only include the information you want to share: your name, occupation (or desired occupation), phone number, email address and links to any social media profiles, like your LinkedIn URL. If you want to use something more high-tech, try one of the apps that allows you to share your card from your phone, like CardDrop. Or pick up a business card with FullContact’s Card Reader.

5. Your perfected pitch. You only have one chance to make a great first impression. Don’t blow it. You’ll need it when you meet people and they ask what you do. You’ll also need one customized for every interview you take. Your pitch conveys what problem you can solve for an employer. Use words and language to ensure your unique style and personality come through. And avoid résumé-speak or jargon that isn’t universally understood.

Quick tip: Keep your pitch under a minute, and practice so it sounds natural. If you need some guidance, check out the myPitch app created by Karalyn Brown of InterviewIQ.

6. Target list of potential employers. Rather than searching job boards all day, looking for the perfect job and getting lost in the black hole of applications, why not approach people inside companies you would like to work for? This route is more work up front, but it will help you stand out and rise to the top of the referral pile if you make the cut.

Quick tip: There are tons of apps for finding posted jobs, but what you really need is additional help networking. Don’t miss Alison Doyle’s new app called Career Tool Belt. It’s loaded with job hunting tips, including the 30 Days to your Dream Job series to guide you day by day.

7. A dose of motivation. Job searching tends to lead to frustration. Rejection is an unfortunate part of the process. Invest time doing things that rejuvenate your energy and keep you feeling hopeful, such as exercising, volunteering or learning a new skill. Keep moving forward and create to-do lists and follow-up actions every day.

Quick tip: Whether you use a calendar system or an organizational app like Any.do, mapping out your weekly activities helps maintain momentum and puts you in the driver’s seat.

Source: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2015/01/07/7-tools-every-job-seeker-needs
Hannah Morgan writes and speaks on career topics and job search trends on her blog Career Sherpa. She co-authored “Social Networking for Business Success,” and has developed and delivered programs to help job seekers understand how to look for work better.

#MotivationMonday – How to Stay Motivated in a Job Search

Because I have a love for YouTube, and YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine after Google, I’m sharing a video with you today for #MotivationMonday. If you’ve been engaged in a job search for several months and are in need of some motivation, hopefully this video will have some tips for you:

If you currently have accounting & finance staffing needs or are seeking employment, please contact me dvelasquez@cfstaffing.com.

#MotivationMonday – 5 Ways to Stay Motivated in a Frustrating Job Hunt

Good morning! I am starting a new series on my blog, #MotivationMonday. I know being involved in a job search can feel frustrating at times, so each Monday I will post a motivational article to keep you excited about new opportunities!

5 Ways to Stay Motivated in a Frustrating Job Hunt

Another day, another click to “connect” on LinkedIn. Your motivation bottoms out after searching for the latest variation of the same job with a different name. After checking—yet again—your stagnant inbox, you close your laptop in defeat.

It’s easy to get stuck in this draining cycle. My experience in the job search taught me that one of the biggest challenges is just maintaining the motivation to continue, especially when you’re dealing with rejection and radio silence. But I also know that you can revive your motivation by making simple changes to your job-search approach, focusing less on all those resumes and cover letters, and more on you and what you want.

Climb out of your motivational slump with these five tips.

1. Get Specific With Your To-Do List

When your motivation is low, general job-searching tasks like “network” and “redo resume” can be overwhelming. A great way to instantly make your search seem more manageable? Rework your to-do list to include smaller, more specific tasks.

For example, when I was job searching, I made it a goal to reach out to two direct contacts one day and two referrals the next for informational interviews. Both were easy to-dos that, over time, helped me reach my broader goal of expanding my network (and, as a bonus, do so without feeling like I was “networking).

In addition, when it came to actively applying, instead of telling myself I had to find more jobs in general, I gave myself a weekly quota of two to three jobs. This was a realistic goal that allowed me to focus my attention on crafting the best job applications each week (and saved me from writing hundreds of cover letters).

2. Look Up Your Career Role Models

When you’re job searching, reading description after description requiring “five to seven years of experience” in a certain field, it’s hard to remember the truth about career paths: They’re rarely linear. In fact, most successful people made loops, jumps, and a few skids to get to where they are today.

So, step away from the job boards, hop over to LinkedIn, and search for people who have your dream jobs or who work at companies you are interested in. Looking at the various ways people have gotten to where they are now will likely remind you that there is no straight path to success (for example, I once interviewed with a former journalist and screenwriter turned vice president of marketing).

Better yet, reach out to a few of these people. Asking people to share a bit about how they got to where they are and some advice for your own search can be incredibly helpful—and motivating.

3. Seek Constructive Criticism from Your Supporters

Your biggest fans can also be your most helpful critics—if you ask them to be. That supportive former co-worker, professor who believed in you, and friend who just gets you all know your full potential and how you could improve. So, if you’re feeling like you’re trying everything but still getting nowhere, tryasking them for some constructive criticism.

Identify where you’re struggling, whether it is with resume formatting or interviewing, and ask for advice from the appropriate people (that former professor who pushed you to do your best public speaking, for example). Based on their knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses, they can give specialized, honest advice (that you’ll be much more motivated to put into practice than the generic tips you’re reading everywhere).

One of my professors, for example, encouraged perfecting the elevator pitch, so I sat down with him to learn how to pitch myself in 30 seconds. He had me pitch over and over to him, making me restart every time he found a fault—and he told me exactly what I was doing wrong. It was frustrating, but it kept me going—and soon, I was able to deliver an effective pitch that I later used when I met potential contacts.

4. Put Your Career Goals on Paper

“Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” is a question we all try to avoid. But right now, when you’re in a slump, is exactly the right time to answer it.

Take some time to make a list of all of your dreams, big and small. Actually putting them on paper will force you to think about what you want to achieve and—better yet—motivate you to see at least one goal (if not all of them) through. Think of it kind of like a to-do list for your career: Seeing things on paper will get you excited to check things off.

As an added bonus, seeing your dreams in writing may give you some ideas on how to tie them together. From winning industry awards to landing a C-suite positions to starting your own company, each goal, no matter how random, can shed light on a new opportunity. You may even find ways to widen your search (like linking your interest in writing and food to discover restaurant PR).

5. Take Days Off

At one point, I was doing something job-search related every day, from going on informational interviews to searching Indeed for every type of entry-level communications position imaginable. I was burned out. And I found myself losing sight of my main objectives and looking for jobs just to find a job, even if they were not right for me.

What I realized is that the best way to deal with a motivational slump of any sort is to take a few days off. Pre-determined free days—where you get some time off from thinking about resumes, cover letters, and interview questions—can alleviate all those job-search frustrations and help restore your drive. By taking a few days off here and there, I found that I was able to refocus and better tackle the search when I was ready.

I stumbled a few times during the job search, and, along the way, learned the importance of making the search about me—not just the job. I gave myself manageable goals, time to regroup, and countless, countless lists, which all helped me to power through and land my current job in the marketing department of a magazine.

The job search doesn’t have to be a daunting task every time you open your laptop. These tips worked for me, and they can for you, too.

Source: Julia Corbett, https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-ways-to-stay-motivated-in-a-frustrating-job-hunt