May 22, 2007

How to change your job without changing your office

In your own company , if you are want more challenges and if you thinks there are enough scope for improvement, you might want to consider applying for an internal vacancy. Internal job moves are generally considered easier to achieve than external ones. Employee wise, you dont have to adapt to the new envionment. You dont have to be sad or taking the openings and you can broaden the scope of business . Your career graph also can be planned much better .The organisation wont be loosing a valuable resource .

Incase you are bored with your current job and is not ambitious with salary alone, best way is to try for a job change in your own organsation. . Remember that there are a lot of jobs on the market, which are never advertised. The people who end up getting these positions know how to seek out the right opportunity and to be in the right place at the right time.Before you rush into looking for vacancies, it’s important to think about what you really want from your career and from your next step.

Identify yourself

Try a question yourself about the scope of your career plan.The career has to be your goal.Your long-term goals and short-term objectives should drive your career path.Identify your career related strengths and weaknesses, do not be too tough on yourself but you have to be honest. You do not have to share any of this material with anyone but yourself.

You do not have to be the perfect employee. Try to determine what qualities are employers in your area are looking for. Then determine if you have these qualities and at what level. Most Employers all have the basic requirements in terms of basic skills :

* Self-motivated / Confident
* Flexible
* Team player/good communication
* Organized
* Energetic/Enthusiastic
* Attention to Detail
You have to work on the basic skills first and then work your way up to the skills required by your profession.

Where are you now? What is your career position now ? Make a list of the things you like and dislike from work. This will make you more aware of what career and job you are looking for. Writing these things down, will also present a better picture of the whole.You have reviewed what you like and dislike about your current job and what are your strengths and weaknesses.Where do I want to be in my career in the short term? Where do I want to be in my career in the long term?


Identify the potential market

Prepare a list as you would for any other by working out what you have to offer other parts of the business in terms of competence, confidence, character, and motivation. The questions broadly addressed will be What all i Need to Know and How should I go about looking for these jobs in your current organisation.

How i can attach to the market?

Your employer may have a web site, an intranet, a newsletter, or a staff bulletin board, all of which could advertise current vacancies, so check these out regularly. In some organizations the policy is to offer vacancies internally before opening them to others, but in other cases all positions may be advertised externally from the beginning. Your human resources contact should be able to tell you where your employer advertises, both internally and externally, for the kind of job you are seeking.

What if I don’t find anything I like?

Don’t give up if you don’t see anything that appeals to you immediately. Make an appointment to see someone in human resources, as well as your department managers. This way you can let them know that you’re considering a move, what type of position you’re looking for, and the strengths that you feel you have to offer other parts of the business. If you think your boss would support your move, he or she can help you to seek out opportunities and provide support for your advancement within the organization.

How can I increase my chances of promotion?

A consistent long-term positioning effort is the most effective way to assure yourself of promotion, whether now or in the future. If your company has a reasonably formal work culture, always dress for the job that you want, rather than the job that you have. This helps people to visualize you in a more senior role, and it creates a good impression with any senior managers and directors you come into contact with.

The higher you rise up the ladder, the more you will need to show your ability to communicate with people across the business and at all levels. Think about ways that you can achieve this within the normal boundaries of your job, and then think beyond this to other circumstances. What can you do that would be useful experience for the future? For example, are there any tasks that your boss would be willing to delegate to you that will allow you to develop your skills and become an important part of the organization?
What can I do now to get noticed by the right people?

http://home.earthlink.net/~autumnglory/RileyWeb/Wilson.jpgWithout losing the ability to have fun at work, you need to take your role and your future seriously. If your company values the development of its staff and offers encouragement in that area, ask for a mentor. This will communicate that you are thinking about your long-term future within the business, and that you’re working on your skills and experience for tomorrow. It will also help boost your confidence when it comes to communicating with more senior colleagues. Find out as much as you can about the strategic direction of your department and the company as a whole. It is much easier to align what you and your team are doing if you are clear about higher level objectives and goals.

Also, don’t be humble or boastful when asked about your achievements. Be clear about, and proud of, your successes and take well-deserved praise gracefully. Then say something like, “I think that experience can be really useful to me. How would you build on that if you were me?” This simple question gets the other person engaged in thinking about how to use your skills in the business, and often opens up new opportunities.

My boss is leaving. What can I do to get her job?

Not everyone is able to talk to his or her supervisor about ambitions, and in fact you may feel that your boss would be threatened by your plans. However, it’s just as likely that they may support your bid to take over when they have left. If you think this is the case, try to get some clear feedback on the areas you need to work on in order to be seen as a credible successor. Your boss may also be ready to do some groundwork on your behalf and bring up your name with the right people as plans take shape to fill the vacancy.





Analyze the jobs

Advertised Positions

Most job listings will contain the following parts
duty statement outlining the main responsibilities, accountabilities, and tasks
additional information, perhaps about what the department does or who the customers are
selection criteria: what strengths and abilities an applicant will need to perform well
salary guide: this is often negotiable
selection process: the closing date for applications, how to apply, contact names, etc.

Notice what criteria are listed as being “essential” and those that are considered “ideal.” For elements on the essential list, you will need to show that you meet the stated qualifications. If you don’t have the exact requirements listed in this section, you’ll need good alternative qualifications or experience to offer as evidence of your ability to do the job. The section that describes the ideal candidate gives other desirable characteristics that the employer feels would be a bonus. As a rule of thumb, if you believe there is an 80% match between what you have to offer and the position you are considering, then it’s worth your while to apply for it.

Unadvertised positions
It is a little harder, since you won’t have a job description in front of you and will have to procure the information yourself by asking questions. Even when you have an ad to start with, you can make a phone call to clarify or to get further information that will help you decide if the job is for you. In fact, this may make you more memorable, as long as you don’t take up too much of a person’s time or probe too deeply. Prepare yourself the conversation so that you make a good impression. Make a list of the job requirements mentioned in the ad, as well as the evidence that you can meet each of them. You can add to the list or make notes while on the phone. Decide in advance what questions you will ask, remembering to keep them brief, and practice what you will say if asked for information about yourself.

Fill Out Application Forms Correctly

Keep Your Résumé Current, Short, and Functional

Always keep your résumé up-to-date, adding new achievements, skills, and qualifications as you go along. This way, you won’t have to spend time restructuring it when you hear about a job that you’re interested in. However, don’t send your résumé without checking that it has the right tone of voice, and that it emphasizes the necessary skills and strengths for the job you are applying for. If you are interested in more than one type of position, it may be a good idea to have more than one résumé on hand, each emphasizing different experience and abilities.

Keep your résumé down to one or two pages. You need to give enough information to interest the recruiter, but you don’t want to bore them with superfluous information. Also, there is no need to tell everything now. Less sometimes has a greater effect than more. The secret is getting the reader to think of questions that they would like to ask you. For example, you could talk about an achievement and the impact that it had on your department but hold back the information about how you did it, leaving this as a “hook.”

Remember that you need to grab attention in the first half page, so don’t waste this section listing your middle names, hobbies, and the organizations you belong to. These items can be left out or put at the end of the second page. Make the most important information readily accessible, and remove information that is not relevant to this application. An hour carefully tailoring your résumé can prove to be well spent.

Write a Brief Cover Letter

Whether you send a hard copy of your résumé and application or use e-mail, a brief cover letter should go with every application you make, highlighting how you can meet the employer’s requirements or solve their problems. The format should be the same as a formal business letter, and should fit easily on one page. If you know the person in your organization that you are writing to, the tone should reflect that fact, but remember that the letter may be shown to others—be friendly but professional. Using short, simple sentences to get across your message, write:

an opening paragraph that immediately shows your relevance and makes a connection between you and the position you want
the highlights of your relevant strengths or achievements
a strong concluding paragraph that asks for a meeting to discuss the position further

Follow Up with a Phone Call

Once a job opening has been posted, recruiters are often inundated with replies and need to quickly screen out those they don’t consider to be viable job candidates. One criteria that they may use is motivation. Because good candidates are most likely to be sincerely interested and excited about their role, they should be motivated to follow up their application with a phone call. Recruiters will sometimes sift through and keep the most promising applications on their desk and wait to see which applicants call. Those that call are invited to interview.

A follow-up call is best done about a week after you send the application. Start by asking the contact if they received your application, and then politely inquire when you can expect to hear about an interview. You can close by saying you are interested in the position and hope to have the chance to discuss it further. Keep the call short, unless you are invited to say more about yourself.
What to Avoid
You Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Don’t put your life on hold; even if you are quite certain you’ll be offered the job you want. If your current position is not right for you, keep looking and inquiring until you have a definite offer. If you look elsewhere you may find similar positions in other organizations that are just as good if not better than what is available in your own company.
You Take a Job Description at Face Value

Remember that most job postings will describe a position in the most favorable light possible. This is why it’s important to identify the issues: what would you like more of in a new position and what would you like to avoid? What elements do you expect to be different in another part of the organization? Once you have decided what is most important to you, talk to people in the relevant department to see if your expectations match the reality of the situation.