Career Development Toolkit

Two questions that I like to ask people when they are planning their next road trips is: 1.     Are you planning to take the direct route and see farm fields on the way? or 2.     Are you going to take the scenic route and enjoy the view and perhaps learn a few things? So you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with career development and what does “career development” actually mean? Well, many people in today’s ultra-competitive society believe that career development is all about advancement and that the only way to get promoted is to “climb up the corporate ladder.” This common definition usually follows a specific direction or in this case, a “direct route.” For example, the picture on the right illustrates an example of someone who may follow a “corporate ladder” career path and stay within a specific business unit (blue) their whole entire career. However, although this may be the most typical career path, this may not be the most beneficial for you in the long-ru

Have you ever tried putting together a piece of Ikea furniture and realized that the screws didn’t fit because they ended up giving you the wrong tools in the set? Well, career development is similar to this example because without having the right “tools” in your “tool box,” it will be difficult to stand out and land your dream job (i.e. assemble your furniture). As a result, to help you in your career development process, I have provided you with some essential tools that you can use in your future career. This tool box includes some great advice that was given to me by a past EVP of HR at one of the largest telecommunication providers in the world .  Here are some tools to consider: Tool #1: Create a career development plan: This is the most important aspect of career development according to a former Director of Learning & Development that I worked with! The reason is because this plan will serve as your “instructions” and will help guide you in your career development proc

740 million   professionals!!! That is the number of people around the world today using LinkedIn as a tool to market themselves to potential employers and develop their personal brand. So, you may be thinking, why is this fact important to my career development and finding a job in the future? Well, according to SHRM, among the organizations that used social networking sites for recruiting, the most utilized social networking website was LinkedIn (95%). In fact, more than 56% of organizations today stated they are currently using social media websites when recruiting for potential jobs because it is: o    Easier to recruit passive candidates (candidates who aren't actively looking for a job) o    Less expensive than other recruiting methods o    Easier to target specific job levels (entry-level, managers, etc.) o    Easier to target specific skills and geographic regions As a result, to help you develop your personal brand and attract employers using LinkedIn, I have develope

Have you ever gone through an interview and wondered what recruiters were looking for before, during, and after an interview? According to SHRM, 63% of those polled said it takes recruiters 15 minutes or less to rule out a candidate. As a result, to help you during your interview process, I have developed some interview tips based on my past experiences and a survey conducted by SHRM surveying 498 HR professionals on “ Interviewing Do’s and Don’ts for Job-Seekers.” Here are some things to consider before, during, and after a job interview: Before the Interview ·          Check for Errors: Before submitting your resume and cover letter, make sure that it does not contain any spelling and grammatical errors.   A ccording to SHRM, 58% of HR respondents considered it a deal breaker. ·          Be cognizant, but not paranoid (social media): Be cognizant about the types of photos and comments you post on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter because the friends

In today’s technology driven world, the majority of job seekers find out information about companies by using the following: ·          Internet job postings and advertising ·          Company research sites (Reuters, Vault etc) ·          Company career websites ·          Networking (i.e. word-of-mouth) However, we all know that going to networking sessions and finding people that actually work at a specific company that you’re interested in can be very difficult and time consuming. As a result, have you ever wondered if there was a way to find out employer information about companies directly from current or past employees? Well, to help you in your job search and perhaps gain an advantage over your competition, I will inform you of a very powerful and helpful website called Glassdoor.com. Glassdoor.com is similar to yelp.com (restaurant review site), but for employment/job seekers. The site enables job seekers to obtain inside information such as employee satisfaction and