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New Year’s Resolutions for Your Career
(By Dan Simmons)

Well, it’s that time again, time to make resolutions for a new year.  And while many people focus on some of the same time-honored goals when making their resolutions (lose weight, work out at a gym, eat healthy), they don’t devote enough attention to the one area that could make a big difference in their life in the months ahead—their career.

When you stop and think about it, isn’t your career at least as important as promising yourself that you’ll eat out less?  After all, a person’s job is one of the determining factors in their overall well being.  Eating the right foods and working out every day are worthy goals, but if you hate your job and are disappointed in your career path, then you’re still negatively affecting your health.

And since devising New Year’s Resolutions for your career can be a bit more difficult than your run-of-the-mill resolutions, below are not just one, but seven that can help you in 2006.

Resolution #1—I will engage in specific training that will enhance my ability to do my job or advance my career.  Making sure that you’re the best employee that you can be is the first step.  Do everything you can to increase your skills and knowledge.  You’ll make yourself more attractive to any employer, whether it’s your current employer or the one you might have a year from now.

Resolution #2—I will update my resume with all recent accomplishments in case an opportunity arises or simply so I can feel better about my career.  Don’t be modest.  Make sure that your resume reflects all of the achievements that you believe emphasize how valuable you are as an employee.  There’s a psychological aspect to this one, as well, since listing these accomplishments also serves to boost your self-confidence, a crucial attribute when attempting to bolster your career.

Resolution #3—I will get a good raise or a great review.  Even if you’re not completely happy with your current position, that’s no reason to go through the motions.  No matter the situation, a consistently solid performance fueled by hard work, creative thinking, and initiative will benefit you greatly, both in terms of compensation and future opportunities.

Resolution #4—I will send my resume to a recruiter just in case the right job opportunity happens to come across their desk.  As we’ve mentioned before in the ASM, there are many job opportunities that only recruiters know about.  They aren’t circulated at all through traditional media channels.  These opportunities are the ones you want to interview for, because they’re often the ones that are the most attractive to job seekers.

Resolution #5—I will network better so that I’m more aware of what’s going on in my industry and of any career opportunities that may arise.  Networking is crucial to the advancement of any career.  In fact, evidence shows that it’s almost impossible to over-network.  It’s not only about what you know, but also who you know.

Resolution #6—I will become active in an industry organization for the betterment of my industry and to advance my career.  With this resolution, you can actually accomplish two objectives: 1) increase your knowledge, and 2) increase the number of people you know (networking).  Organizations such as these often hold conventions and other annual events that offer excellent opportunities for you to accomplish these objectives.  (Be sure to read Jeffrey Bewley’s article, “The Meeting within the Meeting,” published in the January 10 issue of the ASM.)

Resolution #7—I will read all 20 issues of the Animal Science Monitor that are published in 2006 and forward them to my friends.  At the ASM, we continually strive to provide job seekers just like you with the information they need to build the career they want.  Keep looking in our newsletter for career-related articles, and also visit www.animalsciencemonitor.com in order to peruse back issues.

Some people might think that New Year’s Resolutions are made to be broken.  That’s why they end up making the same ones year after year.  However, the good news is that if you stay persistent, focused, and disciplined, the above resolutions will turn into habits.  And once they become habits, they will become ingrained into your everyday employment life.

If you have any questions about how you can improve or advance your career in 2006, please send your questions to dan@consearch.com.  Here’s hoping that the new year is your best one yet.

A Stronger Resume will Increase Your Odds
(By Don Hunter)

Reality check: Given the choice of two candidates of equal ability, hiring managers will always prefer to interview the one with the most artfully constructed and attractive resume. For that reason, candidates with superb qualifications are often overlooked. And companies end up hiring from a more shallow pool of talent, a pool made up of those candidates whose experience is represented by powerfully written, visually appealing resumes.

Of course, many of the best candidates also have the best resumes, and sometimes, highly qualified candidates manage to surface through word-of-mouth referrals. In fact, the referral method is the one I use to present talented people to my client companies.
But unless you can afford to rely on your “reputation” or on the recommendation of a barracuda recruiter, you’ll need more than the right qualifications to get the job you want—you’ll need a dynamite resume.

In today’s competitive employment market, your resume has to stand out in order to get the attention of the decision maker and create a strong impression. And later on, when you meet the prospective employer face-to-face, a strong resume will act as a valuable tool during the interviewing process.

Truth in advertising
The best way to prepare a dynamite resume is not to change the facts, just make them more presentable. This can be accomplished in two ways: [1] by strengthening the content of your resume, and [2] by enhancing its appearance.
Although there’s no federal regulatory agency like the FDA or FCC to act as a watchdog, I consider it to be ethical common sense to honestly and clearly document your credentials. In other words, don’t make exaggerated claims about your past.
Remember, your resume is written for the employer, not for you. Its main purpose, once in the hands of the reader, is to answer the following questions: How do you present yourself to others? What have you done in the past? And what are you likely to accomplish in the future?

In addition to providing a factual representation of your background, your resume serves as an advertisement. The more effective your 30-second commercial is, the more the customer—the employer—will want to buy the expertise you’re selling.

Attitudes for Success
(By Don Hunter)

There are many different things that can serve as the basis for employment success.  For example, a worker’s talent and skill level is certainly one criteria that can determine how successful that person ultimately is.  However, that’s far from being the only criteria involved.

One area that is critically important to a person’s success in the marketplace and on the job is their attitude.  A person’s attitude and frame of mind can have a tremendous impact on the quality of their work, as well as how they are perceived in the workplace.  Cultivating a positive attitude is tied directly to a person’s self-esteem, whether they’d like to admit it or not.  Most of the time, when a person has a high level of self-esteem, they also have a better or more positive attitude.

Although you may feel perfectly fine about yourself, your abilities, and your achievements, almost everybody has room to bolster their self-esteem.  This is a healthy thing to do because it breeds confidence, and confidence is another vital component to achieving success.  If two people of the same talent and abilities interview for the same job, the person who appears more confident is likely to be the one who’s hired.  (Remember, you don’t want to cross the line from being confident to being cocky.)

Below are two simple ways in which you can build your self-esteem and confidence, and as a result, further enhance the attitude that you bring to your employment situation.

1. Make a list of your abilities and successes.  Putting an emphasis on positive achievements is a good way to help build self esteem. 

2. Set reachable goals and then work to achieve them.  Notice the word “reachable.”  Setting unrealistic goals is ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst.  This should be easier to complete once you put together an honest and objective list of your abilities.

Now that you’ve boosted your self-esteem and your confidence, what else can you do to create a positive attitude?  The workplace is often fraught with mental, psychological, and emotional perils and pitfalls, just waiting to sabotage a productive frame of mind.  The key is to identify which situations are most likely to cause problems for you and then create a plan for dealing with them.  If you’re not surprised, you’ll be better equipped to adapt and adjust quickly.  Here are three ways to protect your attitude from potential landmines.

• Learn how to accept criticism.  You’ve probably already heard of the term “constructive criticism.”  That refers to criticism that people offer that’s designed to help you grow as a person or employee, not designed to tear you down or degrade you.  But to be honest, any criticism you learn from and grow from can be considered constructive, even if it wasn’t meant to be constructive.  The key is to quell any knee-jerk reaction to the criticism and objectively focus on how you can improve.

• Learn how to handle workplace pressure.  Every job has its share of pressure, it’s just a matter of how much.  Some have a low level; some have an almost unbearable amount.  How you deal with it is determined to a degree by your personality (i.e., Type A, Type B).  However, that’s just one part of it.  That’s because you can train yourself to handle pressure better.  This can be done in a number of different ways, such as through workshops or training books and tapes.

• Be assertive, not arrogant.  People like to be around assertive, forward-thinking confident co-workers.  On the other hand, they don’t like to be around arrogant ones.

There are many factors that companies take into consideration when deciding which employees to promote or which candidates to hire.  A person’s attitude is one of those considerations.  You might have all the talent in the world, but the wrong attitude could hold you back.  This is an area that many people overlook, but its impact is unquestioned.  As a result, when embarking upon your job search or when looking for ways to enhance your career in any way, you should make cultivating the proper attitude one of your top priorities.

If you have any questions regarding this topic or any questions about workplace dynamics in general, feel free to send me an email at brg@charterinternet.com.