Your Career Goals

It’s hard to know where to start when you’re looking for a job. If you haven’t outlined a plan or narrowed down a field, you can waste a lot of time—time that could be spent earning money if you could just snag the perfect job in your desired field. But now that the summer lull is ending, it’s time to really seize your best opportunity. Companies are getting back to business at full capacity and looking to make hires who will get them through the winter months and can hang on for the long hull.

Your resume is a hugely important document in your life! It’s the difference between you getting achieving the next step in your career and…not. It’s the difference between you snatching a job that fulfills your life’s goals and having a job that’s just a job. So you have to make sure it grabs the reader’s attention, that it stands out from the competition. Aside from the most obvious details—contact information, the position you’re applying—here are five more items that every well-written resume needs to have.

Secretaries and administrative assistants often perform a company’s organizational tasks, storing and filing documents and serving as a liaison to the public. They help schedule appointments and facilitate meetings. They’re needed in every industry and can make between $20 and $30 an hour, depending on the complexity of tasks. As a full-time employee, you’re eligible for full benefits, you maintain a regular, predictable schedule and get to leave work at work. A work-life balance is important.

Summer is an exciting time for a lot of reasons! Now you can add “getting a summer job” to the list! In fact, summer brings a huge surge in job opportunities. Think tourism, agriculture, warehouse jobs, or even retail. If you can find a position that matches your skills, schedule and salary requirements, you can set yourself up for a better opportunity ahead. And if you don’t like it, at least it’s only temporary! Here are four reasons you should consider a summer job.

Your resume shows off your skills, qualifications, experience, education and probably a few dozen other heroic highlights. But it will only get you so far. At some point, your intangible qualities will take over and can make you shine brighter than someone with a similar resume. Here are four characteristics you can develop to help you find your dream job.

When you’re applying for jobs, be prepared. Show that you’re thoughtful, conscientious and have details ready. Depending on the job, applications vary. They’re a good way for employers to collect the same of information from all candidates. When you sign the bottom, you’re guaranteeing that all the information is truthful and accurate. Here are some application questions you should be prepared for you so can nail them every time!

Soft skills are crucial to a successful career. They can’t be taught in a classroom or measured on paper, but they can be detected by hiring managers. Degrees, certifications, and years of experience don’t mean much without the proper combination of soft skills. Here are five soft skills you need to develop right now to get noticed and advance your career.

Before you decide to leave a job, think it through and make sure that this is absolutely the best decision for you. You don’t want to burn a bridge before it’s too late! Here are six steps to follow to make sure you follow professional protocol and don’t lose respect from your colleagues and bosses.

A professional reference is a recommendation from someone who can attest to your qualifications for a job. You want to choose someone who has a pretty solid knowledge of you as a worker, not necessarily as a friend or a brother or a parent. Those people don’t hurt, but keep in mind that you want someone who can speak honestly about your skills, credentials, and work ethic.

Writing a resume is tough and time-consuming. It seems stressful, but it’s totally worth the effort. The average recruiter spends six seconds scanning each resume before he decides which pile to toss it into, so yours needs to grab his attention quickly!