Six Career And Job Tips You Rarely Hear

When the time comes for you to consider a career move or if you are just seeking a job in

general, advice on how to go about it is never scarce. Whether through a well-intentioned

friend or family member or your intentional research or internet searching, you'll find

many overlapping opinions about what is important to consider. Some of the more

common advice you might hear or read about include tips like:

• Be Organized

• Network

• Research

• Dress For Success

• Be Strategic

• Update Your Resume

• Consult With Others

• Do Informational Interviews

There is no mistaking that this kind of sound advice makes up about 90% of what is tried

and true – and for good reasons. But it's also important to remember that standard advice

is not always “good” advice given the many variables involved. Your specific job search

will need to include filtering through most of these proven tips to determine if they work

for you. Contributing factors such as your level of education, background, experience,

skill set, family schedule, geography, or field or industry can affect the appropriateness

and effectiveness in any attempts you choose.

If you are looking for an edge and a way to separate yourself from the crowded field of

other applicants, and I hope you are, you may also want to consider some unconventional

advice or job seeking approaches. These are tips that, at the very least, lie at the fringes of

the blueprint for landing a job and, at best, are so uncommon that you may have never

heard them before. Remember, no set of circumstances are the same, and everybody is

different.

Only you can decide what's best for you. It's never a bad idea to search the fringes or explore ideas that are completely outside of the box." You don't know what

you don't know, as they say. And in the golden words of author Mercedes Lackey, “If it is

stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.” 

Here are the Six Career and Job Tips you rarely hear about :

1.

If you are looking for entry level jobs, target your first job that leads eventually to

your dream job. Allowing yourself to envision your dream job is great, but keep

your eye on the prize while not letting that dominate your thinking and being

seduced by the idea that until you land that dream job, everything else will be

"meh," or worse. Concentrate on the jobs that you can compete for today and

spend energy on how you can be the best at that job first. Nobody who has their

dream job gets there without a story. Your first job is like writing a book that

eventually you will share with others. Start on page 1 rather than page 351.

2.

Never underestimate body language. The fact is, most people read about body

language or find it’s rewards buried in an article they read, but few put into

practice the powerful influence this can play in networking, in an interview or

even in your current job and personal life! Your body is an extension of everything

you are and how you use it sends messages. It is much more than personifying

your cover letter and resume! Take an acting class or attend a presentation seminar

if you can, but if you want to study the powerful forces of body language, just pay

attention. The more you focus on other people and their body language, the more

aware you will become of your own.

3.

Don't leave your current job before you land your next job. This tip falls under the common advice category if you take it literally, but my intent is not about that. If

you have a job and are looking for a different job, the natural tendency is to leave

the current one mentally long before we do physically. At the time, many find it

easy to justify a bit of slacking on your current job because you know you are

taking action to leave. But remember, nobody else knows unless you've told them.

If there is ever a time to ramp up your efforts, it's at the end of one job journey

before you start another one. You may still be working with the references you

listed or people who put in a good word for you. Just like a great book, a piece of

music, or movie, we often remember the beginning and the awesome ending more

than we do what happened in the middle. Leave on a high note without burning

bridges.

4.

If you have your sights set on a particular company, become their most devoted

customer. Loyalty goes a long way, but knowledge is its shadow. You'll often hear

research the business before you do an interview. What you don't often hear is

how to do that the investigation. Getting on your computer and finding out about

their brand, their history, and story (if they have one), and memorizing their

mission statement is evident enough and puts you on equal par with the other 50%

of candidates who will do the same thing. Shift this concept into high gear, and

suddenly you've become the president of their fan club and the ambassador for all

things _______(insert company name here).

That is just step one of a two-step process. Why go to all that trouble only to have

your efforts go unnoticed? Step two is actually to purchase and use their product or

service. Of course, if they happen to specialize in the automobile industry selling

Lotus T125's (which goes for a cool $1 million) that may be cost-prohibitive for

most of us. But if you want a marketing job with Campbell Soup Company, you

should be stocking up on every variety of soup they sell and having soup at every

meal! Get to know their product/service and share your satisfaction with everyone

you know including Campbell Soup! You may find out you don't like their soup or

that you spot a flaw in their marketing campaign. Think of how impressive you'll

sound in an interview when you can tell them how delicious their latest test-market

soup is and how a slight change in their can-opening mechanism can be better and

save them money or earn them more profit! Your loyalty and enthusiasm will

speak volumes in your interview about your earnest intent to invest yourself in the

company and the position for which you are applying.

5.

Create a Fan Club. Not for you, although that's not a bad idea either, rather for those who work in a career or job that you respect. If you don't already have a hero

or two in your field that you sincerely appreciate, it's time to start gathering them.

Some, of course, will be people you don't know and may take a concerted effort on

your part to find. So be sure also to include some local heroes that may currently

work with you, or are employed by the company you'd like to work with ideally.

Don't stop there, though, local or not! Make yourself known by letting them know

that you admire them and that you are a fan of their work! It is nearly impossible

these days to not connect with someone. Email, blogs, social media, hand-written

letters, phone calls, or texts all allow easy attempts at connecting with virtually

anyone.

And of course, there's this ancient practice of actually meeting with one of

your heroes face-to-face! Google that! Any way that you can connect with

someone is great, but the old practice of looking someone straight in the eye and

using your own words to tell them that they inspire you sincerely is, by far, the

superior method. Don't do this if your sentiment is ingenuine and solely for the

purpose of getting an “in.” The beautiful part about telling someone you are a fan

of theirs will not only probably make their day, but yours as well.

6.

There is no business, company, professional field of work, or particular job that

doesn't have issues. Issues are problems that haven't been solved yet, and that's

where you come in. Through research and study, find those problems. Find even

just one or two problems! The most effective way of finding problems is to hear

directly from people who deal with them regularly.

Once you have identified those people and those problem, then locate the solution(s). To that end, you may end up designing a position that is tailor-made for you, one that doesn't exist yet. To be blunt, if you can't solve problems, you are easily replaceable in just about any job.

Your ultimate objective is to become the go-to person who solves problems thoughtfully, rather than create them. Every resume should list your name followed underneath with the title PROBLEM SOLVER, and then followed by whatever your actual current title is that you hold. I'm kidding about literally putting that on your resume, or am I? Maybe you will or maybe you won't. If you can't honestly agree with even that concept, you just created your first job!