Begin by taking stock and inventory. What skills do you have to offer, what kind of working conditions to you prefer and other questions that help form a picture of you. What are your specific needs both financially and generally?

Put all of these things together to create a picture of yourself. You should have a list of skills that are clustered and categorized so that you can apply them in different resumes for different positions. Remember that you are not a teacher, a scientist, a baker or a welder. You are a person with skills that can be utilized in many different ways.

There are many different facets to finding suitable employment. Anyone can go and find a job. Jobs are everywhere and most of those employers will take just about anyone who applies. If all you want is a job, then disregard this handout and go get one. If however, you are looking for a career, for employment that is suitable for you, that will match your needs and give you some fulfillment, then stay focused and follow all of the steps in this process.

Employers do not like generic resumes. They want you to have focus. Sending in a generic resume or one without an objective is a big waste of time because it will not get you the interview that you want. Remember that employers are looking for any reason to exclude you from the interviews. You have to do everything just right and give them reasons to include you in their search for good employees.

Use the skills at the top of your list, or your most preferred and important skills and accomplishments to create your 60 second me. Use this at the beginning of an interview to highlight and showcase what you are capable of doing. This is your chance to sell your skills to your new employer. Let your soul shine and let them know how valuable you will be. It’s now or never, so SELL!, SELL!, SELL!.

Show the employer that you have Desire, Interest and Enthusiasm. Let them know that you are in a sense willing to die for the job. Show them how excited you are.

I cannot emphasize this enough. If you over-prepare, you will be successful, PERIOD!!

The actual interview is really a very small part of the entire process. Yes it is critical, however, if you are well prepared the interview will go well and it will in fact be a minor incident in the overall picture.

So to recap:

MAKE A GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF YOUR SITUATION

ANALYZE YOUR SKILLS

CREATE A SUMMARY OF SKILLS

ANALYZE YOUR PERSONALITY

CREATE A GENERIC APPLICATION FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES

ANALYZE CAREER FACTORS

CREATE A 60 SECOND ME

CREATE A DIE STATEMENT

CREATE A SEPERATE RESUME FOR EACH POSITION

REHEARSE AND PREPARE FOR EACH INTERVIEW

FOLLOW-UP WITH A THANK YOU CARD

The main goal is to find suitable employment. If you take your time and work through the process you will find suitable and gainful employment. Once you have completed the steps above, you will need to focus on locating the kind of employment that utilizes your skills.