Getting Started

Since I am just starting to blog I see this as a comparison to everyone in the job market that is trying to reinvent themselves or find a new career path with the downturn of the economy. The hardest part is convincing someone to listen to you. In the job market, you have to convince someone that you can learn just about anything. A basic knowledge of business to me would seem like a good starting point for anyone.

We are currently hiring a couple of employees and a lot of questions come to mind as I interview.
Does it pay off to have that degree when you go into the interview or can working on it be just a beneficial? Do certifications mean more than a degree? In current times keeping up on your skills is most important. How do you portray on paper that you are willing to learn and learn fast enough to melt into the pot?

Every resume I see looks the same – colored paper which used to be a good trick to make it stand out among the white. Same black writing with the header and same generic objective line from the internet. Why should I choose one over the other?

All of these are basic questions to think about before putting out the resume.

Getting that first look from an employer is what you need if you want to get an interview and a job offer. How do you do that? If you have not hired before or do not see what others offer then it’s hard to know what you are competing against.

This blog is not very lengthy but I want to just set some ground work for some areas I would like to discuss in getting your career going and moving forward.

Have a great weekend and look forward to getting more into career topics with you in the subsequent weeks.

Guest Expert:

Cassandra Chasnis, CISA, ITIL, MBA is a Senior Auditor at Chemical Bank focusing on the Information Technology area. She also teaches at Davenport university in the Computer Security and IT Systems discipline. She is a noted speaker and expert in her area. Her main focus is helping people get started on a job that they can turn into a career.

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Comments

New Kid says:
June 5, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Interesting questions – I don't have a 4-year degree and yet I have over 15 years experience as a free-lance/contractor; however looking at staff type jobs they want a degree and some won't even accept my resume without that 4-year degree.
At what point does experience equal or surpass a piece of paper saying I learnt what the school had to offer? I'm not belittling that work, 4 years of college is worthy, expensive and something of which to be proud. BUT does that degree mean more than 15 years experience? If so, why?