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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Kickinthepants Job Search

Kick-In-The-Pants Job Search

Believe it: three obstacles will hold you back from your ideal job -- your résumé, you, and your job-search methods. There's no hidden formula; there's no bribery needed; there's no one standing in front of employment â€" other than YOU!

You've probably heard all the excuses, or used them yourself. The job market is bad; technical jobs are going overseas; those thousands of manufacturing employees had to go somewhere ... of course, these excuses are only the tip of the iceberg.

Look at the job market as challenging. Who doesn't love a good challenge? The current state of the market means that you must job search smarter. Do you have something against learning? We are always overcoming obstacles in our personal and professional lives, so why should today be any different.

You're also probably thinking, "Well there are no jobs, so why bother." Rubbish! The service industry (specifically small business) is driving the employment industry with record job increases for the last several months. Maybe you meant to think, "There are no jobs in my field." Honestly, rethink that excuse as well. There are jobs; you haven't found them but your competitors probably have. Jobs aren't spewing out of cracker-jack boxes or being announced by executives holding signs on a street corner. The jobs that are worth having require effort.

What's wrong with my résumé?

There may be nothing wrong with your résumé, but how do you know? Who's been your résumé expert: you, family members, or friends? Everyone has a specific expertise so don't be afraid to solicit the help of a professional. The career industry is now represented by career coaches, interview trainers, and résumé writers. Just as you're an expert in your field, you should recognize that there is someone to assist with whatever career obstacle you face â€" whether it's your résumé, cover letter, or some other dated job-search technique you're utilizing.

What's wrong with my job-search techniques?

There may be nothing wrong with your job-search techniques, but how do you know? Are you experiencing a bit of déjavu? If your résumé and job-search techniques are tanking, you need to regroup and try new strategies. Job searching is not a science, hence the reason there are countless books and articles written on the topic. The strategies used by one software engineer may not work, or may work faster, for another. You should understand that there are variables to each job seeker, such as target location, length of experience, lack of or too much education, and so on. You must devise job-search techniques that work for you.

What's wrong with my cover letter?

There are so many unprofessional, unfocused, and canned cover letters floating around the job-seeking population that it's no surprise that they're barely read. Who wants to spend valuable time reading a cover letter that sounds like it was written for the company next door? How many times have you inserted the person's name within your content somewhere or written company-specific sentences that focused on the problems the company was facing that you intend to resolve, a new contract that was landed, or maybe a recent merger? Write your cover letters using a conversational language that sounds like it has been written for one recipient.

What about my interviewing skills?

Have you ever heard, "if I can only get to the interview?" Really! Think of your job search as a chain of events. The cover letter represents the résumé. The résumé represents you. The interview is a follow up to the résumé doing its job. To obtain an interview, the résumé and cover letter must first serve the purpose each was designed to do. Good or bad, a résumé will eventually draw attention, but what if you are caught with mediocre interviewing skills that throw your résumé and cover letter efforts out the window? The entire process is a chain that cannot be broken. Any break can cause less than favorable results. I challenge you to sit down right now and make a list of 10 interviewing questions. To make things interesting, devise thorough and results-focused answers to each of these questions within the next 20-30 minutes. Can't do it? If you can't on your own time, then you're not going to be able when under pressure and under examination.

Excuses are a dime a dozen â€" and if you look for them during failure, you're going to continuously be put in a position to fail. They're equivalent to that little voice that puts doubt and "what ifs" in your head. They're not productive, they're not valuable, and they're certainly not positive. The next time you're asked, "What's holding you back?" You can answer, "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" Go get 'em!

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Translation Matters – Insights Gleaned from a Professional Translator

Being married to a Professional Translator for nine years and having experienced translation from an executive point of view has made me very keen on ensuring the quality of a translation. My first article dealing with translation, entitled "Translation Matters - Helpful Tips for Translation Service Buyers" focused on my insights gleaned as an executive responsible for procuring and overseeing translation projects.

The insights that I have gleaned, as one married to a professional translator, over the past many years indeed center on issues of quality. As they say, the pen is mightier than the sword and that metaphor certainly applies to the work of a translator. While quality is generally a tough idea to market (a separate issue), it is critical to the success of a translation project and thus it does receive attention by the best translation companies. So, how do we check the ability of a translator? By evaluation, of course.

1. Check credentials. This is more easily said than done. How do you know which school in Thailand puts out the professional translator vs. one that simply teaches language basics? That could require more digging than you have time for, but it is possible to ask questions of the translators themselves to resolve this, even if you get somewhat conflicted responses. One will likely emerge as the clear winner.

2. Choose a translator and an editor. Once the translator has given you their translation, send it to the editor. When the editor provides the edited version, take a good look at the corrections. Send the edited work back to the original translator to accept/reject the changes. Review any explanation given. If the process goes smoothly and you see no problems, you *may* have a good translator and editor on your hands. This is a typical quality check process good translation service providing companies use.

The next time around, you might try reversing the roles. That is, make the translator the editor and vice versa, repeating the process. Is the translator professional in his/her evaluations of the work of another, sticking to facts, such as punctuation, spelling, word choice, and free vs. literal translation, etc.?

Be sure to have a translator translate a document long enough to be a sufficient test of the capacity and stamina of the translator. Most translators can put enough effort into a paragraph, but how do you know it wasn't done without assistance from someone else? That assistance isn't likely to be made available to a translator when faced with a 2,000, let alone a 200,000-word translation project, is it? In other words, the translator can easily solicit lots of feedback for help with a special project, such that the translation reflects not the raw abilities of the translator himself.

3. Test the translator. If you are looking for a long-term relationship, this could save you some time and expense in the long-run. The way you approach the testing should be well thought out. The manner in which the testing is done is a significant discussion point amongst Professional Translators. You can say it makes for an exciting conversation catalyst. Some translators are happy to do tests for free. However, most professional translators are already occupied with projects and may not appreciate the extra bother. The best thing to do is to pay for a test if it is in your budget, especially for high-end projects.

4. Have a translator send a sample translation that can then be evaluated through another translator. This can be a good approach. Of course, the sample probably reflects the very best work of the translator. One can hope that the integrity of the translator is such that it reflects his and only his work.

Paying attention to detail when evaluating a translation is important. Even credentials cannot supplant the care and diligence of one translator over another. Even if I have three PhD's in the areas of specific concern to your project material, I may not be a careful translator. In fact, I may be quite sloppy. If I were a hamburger commercial, I might be the one that drips ketchup all over before it gets to your mouth. Testing is critical here as well, as you can ascertain which translator follows your instructions explicitly.

Start your evaluation with a small project if at all possible. It's easier to recover, if you make a selection mistake.

I hope these tips are useful and make a meaningful difference to your translation projects. If you'd like to write to me and offer other tips you've discovered, please do so.

In parting, I should say something better than "good luck" with your translation projects, so how about "good testing"?

Copyright Thomas Mayhew