Career Choice Guide Blog

Do What You Are - Book Review

allie2002ca — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:28:34 +0000

Do you want to find a job that you love? Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger can get you well on your way to choosing a career that’s a great fit with your personality with their book Do What You Are - Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type. When it [...]

Using Good Company Research in a Job Interview

allie2002ca — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:04:55 +0000

Most people have heard the advice the you must research a company at least before a job interview and ideally before submitting a resume. Very few people actually do it. If you have ever been responsible for hiring new staff yourself, you were probably amazed at how many people come into an interview [...]

Job Interview Attire - How to Choose the Right Career Clothes for Your Job Interview

allie2002ca — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:29:43 +0000

Part of preparing for a job interview lies in choosing appropriate job interview attire. This decision can seem quite tricky, but if you follow a few simple guidelines, you’ll get it right every time. 1. Never underestimate the importance of choosing appropriate job interview attire. Employers make judgments about your suitability for a job within the [...]

Making a Career Change - 10 Things You Need to Know Before Making a Career Change

allie2002ca — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:39:04 +0000

Ten things you need to know and consider before making a career change: 1. Your interests Ensuring a job is a good fit for your interests will help you to be happy over the long term in your new chosen career. 2. Your abilities Choosing a career that requires skills that do not come naturally to you may mean [...]

5 Types of E-Resumes

allie2002ca — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:32:13 +0000

You may hear the term e-resume or electronic resume thrown about. It’s used in reference to several different types of non-paper resumes. Did you know there are 5 types of e-resumes that you may need to use? Here are the 5 types of e-resumes you might come across: 1. ASCII Resume ASCII resumes are [...]

Find Great Job Leads

allie2002ca — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:48:06 +0000

Are you ignoring unadvertised jobs in your job search? Sure, it’s easier to look for jobs advertised online or in your local newspaper, but that is the weakness in searching only for advertised jobs. If it was easy for you to find the job lead, it was also easy for plenty of other [...]

Job Search Advice from Employers

allie2002ca — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:25:54 +0000

I’ve added a new feature to the Career Choice Guide home site. I’ve asked employers to provide their tips on job searching here: Job Search Advice from Employers. As of this writing, you’ll find tips about writing a good resume as well as job interview tips from an employer’s perspective on the site. As [...]

How Long Should Your Resume Be?

allie2002ca — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:37:46 +0000

How long should your resume be? Your resume should be no longer than two pages. However, it’s wise to think about that question in a different way. Instead, try asking yourself, “How long will an employer look at my resume?” The answer to that question is about 30 seconds at most. So, [...]

The Resume Catalog by Yana Parker Book Review

allie2002ca — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:53:47 +0000

Yana Parker’s book, Resume Catalog: 200 Damn Good Examples is my favorite resource for resume samples. When I worked at an employment resource center, I referred clients to this book almost every day. It’s well organized and full of good resume help and examples that provide plenty of ideas for resume layout and content. It is [...]

Career Choices - How to Choose Your Ideal Career

allie2002ca — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:08:11 +0000

A big part of making smart career choices and gaining control over your career lies in understanding yourself. That means having a good sense of how your personality, abilities, and values work together to impact the type of career that is ideal for you. Career and Personality Match Ensuring a good career and personality match is an [...]

An Easy Way to Target Your Cover Letters

allie2002ca — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:47:48 +0000

You may have heard the advice that you should should avoid sending general cover letters, and, instead, you should write a new cover letter that is specific to the job each time you apply to a job. This advice is important. Generic cover letters don’t do much to help you impress the employer. However, the thought [...]

The Biggest Predictor of Career Success

allie2002ca — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:20:57 +0000

After working with hundreds of clients, I can say with confidence that the biggest predictor of career success is attitude. No matter what the labor market dishes out, or what barriers to employment people may face, those who are willing to do what it takes - including those tasks that are difficult and nerve wracking - [...]

Best Resume Format

allie2002ca — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:00:48 +0000

There are three basic resume styles, chronological, functional and combination. While, these styles all exist for a reason, if I was forced to choose the absolute best resume format, I’d choose the combination resume. A combination resume has the best features of both the chronological and the functional resume formats, with none of the problems [...]

Back on the Career Track - Book Review

allie2002ca — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:10:38 +0000

Are you among the growing number of moms returning to work after leaving paid employment to care for your family? Maybe your youngest child is learning to walk, starting kindergarten, or leaving for college. You may be yearning for the rewards of your former career, feeling the isolation of your “empty nest” or in need [...]

Do You Really Need to Write a Cover Letter?

allie2002ca — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:28:11 +0000

Plenty of clients have asked me this question. The thought of writing cover letters can be quite daunting, and doubly so when you realize you need to write a specific cover letter for each job you apply to. Although you may want to avoid this task, you absolutely must write a cover letter for [...]

Making a Career Change - 3 Easy Ways to Make a Career Change and 1 Difficult Way to Make a Career Change

allie2002ca — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:23:39 +0000

Often people assume that making a career change must mean throwing away everything they’ve built up in order to find carer happiness. They feel that they must start over in a completely new field in order to change careers. This is the difficult way to change careers, and, happily, it is not the [...]

How to Submit Your Resume

allie2002ca — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:07:42 +0000

There are several different ways to submit a resume. You may submit your resume: by mail in person via fax through email online through a company website online through a job bank website How to Submit a Resume To determine the best way to submit a resume when you’re applying to an advertised job, simply follow the instructions exactly as they are outlined [...]

How to do Effective Company Research Even if You’re Only Given a Fax Number in a Job Ad

allie2002ca — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:07:21 +0000

Doing a little bit of company research is a very easy way to help yourself stand out from the competition in your job search. With a little bit of ingenuity, you can often do good company research even when you’re provided with nothing more than a fax number in a job ad 1. Ideally you [...]

What Color is Your Parachute - Book Review

allie2002ca — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:40:27 +0000

What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles is a comprehensive guide to choosing and finding not just any job, but a job that is a great fit with your interests, values, abilities and personal needs. It covers everything from how to write great resumes and find job leads through to how to make [...]

How to Reduce Job Interview Stress

allie2002ca — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:40:31 +0000

Preparation is the key to reducing job interview stress. If you prepare everything possible at least the day before the interview, you’ll be able to focus on the answering interview questions well and avoid worrying about anything else on that day. 1. Gather together and try on all of the clothes that you’ll wear to [...]