Stepping into the first job , there are lot of things that one should learn that no textbook could ever teach you. Your first job will never predict where one will ultimately end up. One may find out from somewhat senior co-workers and that will be revealing of some sort how the career graph of people varies from man to man. So, first thing one should try to know is his own capabilities and expectations, then one should try to know how the organization work, how the business gets done, and lastly how people become successful or in general the organization succeeds.

Usually, the newcomers are tagged that they expect too much too soon. Another criticism that the newcomers think that they know much more than their seniors. A new entrant must not forget that if he has to be successful , the first thing he has to earn the confidence of his colleagues and superiors before he may hope to get more responsibility and succeed in his stride. The other most important aspect is he has to watch out his own attitude towards his support staff so that he may not be taken as an arrogant and headstrong person.

A newcomer has to be extremely observant to see how the staff members interact with each other and how the day to day work is managed . One should study the organizational chart and see the difference if any , with the basic objective to adjust oneself and not for criticism of any kind. Who is admired and why? How the decisions are made ?

Every Organization has got his own culture. The new comer in his own interest should find out the behavior and culture valued in the organization . Basically, one should try to find out at the earliest what the company stands for. Do you find good team work or spirit? What are the written rules and how far those are followed. What kind of people are successful in the organization and then why?

There are many other aspects a new comer should be watchful so that he can make his first job as a stepping stone for prosperity . Some of them are: try to know yourself what you are good at and what you are not, what you prefer to work and enjoy doing so. One should try to learn, contribute and advance at his own initiative and not at somebody’s mercy. Try to get feed back about your performance and improve upon it of your own . If someone get any appreciation in writing , he should always preserve it . One should organize himself first before he can organize the set up big or small.

Someone must be desperately trying to get a job of his choice and have already posted his resume online and sent cover letters and resumes for a few of the positions he might have seen in the newspaper which he thought to be suitable for him. The burning question that comes to everbody’s mind is, what else one should do under such conditon to get the objective fulfilled. It is seen and experts in the field suggest that the more diverse your job hunting strategy, the chances of getting better result is more 

The following tactics are suggested that one can use to track down job opportunities:

Professional Organizations in the field to be contacted

Local, regional or national professional organization are there to help their members with career developments. Many organization list field specific job vacancies in their Web-site or in their publications .

One should browse through Company’s and Organisation’s Web site

Many of the companies post their job openings in the Employment and Career Opportunities Link which is very useful

Apply straightway to the Organisation of your  choice

If someone is very keen to work in any Organization, one should send a well-drafted cover letter and the resume directly to the organization either to the HR department or rather more effectively at times to the person concerned who make decisions about hiring personnel and for that you may have to take the initiative to dig in and find out the name of the official from the organization itself.

Networking parlance

This is an area where you may reach everyone whom you really want to reach and inform about your desperation in a decent and honorable way of course.  Further, by browsing various Employment links , you are quite likely to get what you desire .

Better Join Professional Associations

If you have an association of your profession in the city , join it and be a regular participant so that you come across people of your profession who will be immense help in grabing a job at the earliest.

Visit and attened Job Fairs

In all big cities, one come across such job fairs quite frequently. A job fair a very positive opportunity when a job seeker may have the rare opportunity to meet directly the employer or his bigwigs. Mostly the outcome is positive for the job seeker.

Use placement agencies

There are placement agencies who  claim to be specialist in getting right job for the right person . The charge but usually a nominal amount which normally a job seeker will never mind if the package is satisfactory.

Job applicants for a job in banking sector , is always in a fix to know what the authority of a particular wants since it differs from bank to bank very much. One may find every bank has a different bench mark. Further, the public sector banks differ in their recruitment approach from private sector banks.

However, one can summaries the general requirements of banks in one particular matter i.e. the capabilities or abilities of a new incumbent as given below:

·         The ability to lead or work in a team as per the requirement

·         The ability to manage or train the team as required

·         The quality to grasp a subject matter and convey or do the needful in a appropriate manner

·         To comprehend the needs of customers and respond appropriately

·         The ability to optimum utilization of resources and commitment to meet deadlines

For executive positions, the banks will normally have additional requirements in the candidate as enumerated below –

He should be able to establish cordial relationships at senior as well as operational level with existing and also find new clients.

He should be able to evolve packages as per the clients requirements

He should be able to handle promotional activities, conceiving as well as executing public relation strategies.

Brand building and liaisoning with media

Capability to represent the organization & clients at important meetings/ functions or events.

Banks also recruit Freelancers for facilitating their activities. They expect the following characteristics also in the applicants for consideration:

The incumbent should have the capabilities to promote, conceive and execute public relation strategies

Liaisoning with Media and Industry

Promote business activities vis-à-vis bank’s transactions.

However, there are Bank officers competitive examinations for appointment in nationalized and private banks which is a decent appointment option for those who have the right aptitude to appear for the same. 

There is tremendous prospect for IT Professionals in various sector of the Industry when the incumbent may or may not have any experience in that particular Industry. The reason being the supply is low whereas the demand is high. It is now a candidate’s market.

However, due to economic slowdown in 2008 , it appeared to have slowed down the pace of IT hiring in all sectors. It seems there was a big boom in 2007 in the Insurance sector for hiring IT professionals like many other sectors of the Industry.

If we have a look into any particular sector like Insurance vis-à-vis IT careers can pan out into it, the sector which is in the midst of historic migration from IT sector in particular.

What then is the advantage of IT sector for its migration into the Insurance sector. The main advantage is an IT professional need not to know much about the complex business of Insurance.

In IT, the key roles are the same no matter where you are. Very few of the IT professionals in infrastructure irrespective of their status, need to know insurance rudiments. But, system architects need to know ramifications of their designs on the insurance business. That is why recruiting IT professionals , it is not a must that the incumbent should have experience in insurance business although it will be a big plus if some one is having it .

The Insurance Industry in particular is hiring a host of varied IT professionals in their fold like PC Technicians, Instructional Designers, Database Administrators, Java and Mainframe Programmers, System Designers and Analysts, Business Analyst and Project Managers, Middle Management Managers and Information System Executives.

Pay for IT personnel in Insurance sector varies widely. Some time the package is not attractive enough for the top talent. But, with a mission critical project , the Insurance sector offers will be above average .

Some people who are interested to work in human resources but hesitant to submit their application only became they think they are lacking in experience . This is wrong as per some of the big wigs of HR Specialist. As per their version, it is the intangible skill that matters. The technical skills can be learnt but skills like good judgment and attitude are crucial for the profession.

When somebody is looking for an administrative job in the HR Division, it is seen whether he has the knowledge of benefits or the law. It is not difficult to teach everything that is essential provided somebody is enthusiastic , have the required ethics of customer service, hardworking and reliable. One must be trustworthy, since HR know employee information before anybody else. The biggest challenge for any HR professional is confidentiality. You just cannot share information with anybody. The confidential information may range from who is getting promotion or getting fired , employee’s performance review and paycheck and some more. An HR personnel has to deal with different personalities , so if one is not diplomatic enough to remain above troubled waters, he is not suited to a HR job. A HR personnel must have communication skills and listening skills as well. If he is more comfortable with Computers than people then he should not hang around for a HR career. A HR personnel must know the people around and must also know whom to tap to be your mentor.

 For a successful HR career certification is not a must but it is always better to have one. It is available in various countries in various forms like in United States , one may get certification from Society for Human Resource Management . They offer two types of Certifications, one for Senior Professional in Human Resources and the other for Professional for Human Resources.

Sports Industrial scenario is booming at a rapid progression. In United States alone there are over 5 million jobs and several thousand millions of revenue are accounted for. The NBA, NFL, MLB and Major League Soccer are expanding. Same is the case of sports related ventures of Corporate like NBC Sports, Disney, Warner, Fox Sports etc. which means the job opportunities are increasing. Job opportunities within the sports industry including internships, entry-level junior or senior management and executive positions are available in the following fields:

Broadcasting, Radio & TV, Print Media, Computer & Graphic Designer, Public Relations & Advertising , Sports Information, Recreation and Leisure, Corporate Sponsors, Administration & Management , Health & Fitness, Sporting Events & Promotion , Sports Marketing & Sales, Professional Teams and Leagues, Sporting Goods and many more.

Job categories are separated into suitable groups in the websites like Job in Sports.com, which help the potential job seeker to pick and choose as per his competence. The possible grouping may be as follows:

Sports Marketing and Promotion / Event:

It includes all Sports Marketing, Event Management, Sports / Goods Promotion ,Public Relations, Advertising, Corporate Sponsorship

Sports Media:

It includes all level of Sports activity coverage and Reporting, Writing, Producing, Editing, Copywriting, Radio Broadcasting, TV, Photojournalism

Sports Administration & Management

It includes all administrative and management functions related to Sports like Administration, Accounting, Finance, Customer services, Human Resources, Sports Information, Management, Arena Operation, Merchandising, etc.

Recreation / Health / Fitness

It includes all the items as above and also related matters like Athletic Training , Coaching, Sports Medicine

Sales

It involves all job openings in sales of Apparel, Sporting Goods, Advertising, Marketing, TV and Radio, Sports Equipmrnt, Sports Accessories, Professional Sports League and Teams , Sponsoring important events.

Computer / Tech Jobs

It includes all Web Designing , Graphic Designing, System Coordination, Art, Computer Operation, Internet Production, Programming, IT Support and Coordination, and NetWork Coordination. 

Business and economy are getting focused these days globally. Many companies are also sending their personnel overseas. These work force moving round the globe has created a bunch of jobseekers in the human resources field.

A human resource professional do little bit of everything. It is seen that many individuals sent abroad by their companies have many unanswered queries and many services which are to be coordinated like obtaining correct visas , to figure out salary , tax status , obtaining settling-in services, housing assistance and cross cultural training etc. A HR professional can handle all these and little more to pull all the above information together and can make sure that all the hurdles are taken care of to make the expatriates have a smooth transition to the new environment.

Some organization maintains their own human resource staff to provide these services. Some others dole out these facilities to global relocation firms. But, in either form i.e. one is working for a company which has its in built facility to provide information and support to its own employees  or a company which provides these facilities through global

relocations ; one thing is certain that one need a certain core skill to be successful in this career which cannot be termed or included in the human resource generalist category.

One must know what are the special skill or qualities a global human resource professional should have as enunciated below:

·         Extreme Care and Attention to detail:  Since the matter relates several thousand dollars involvement and very important documents and legal papers like visas, passport, tickets and all these in different languages; one need to be fully organized , confident , detail oriented to deal with unfamiliar bureaucracies and languages that he may frequently encounter.

·         Patience, perseverance and interpersonal skill: It is of paramount importance for the human resource professional to take care of the anxieties of the expatriates and their families associated with regard to going abroad with care and concern. It is not that easy to tackle the unfamiliar system when assisting in finding housing, other services like finding suitable schools; it only matters if someone has perseverance and impersonal skills that can make the difference to make all the concerned comfortable.

·         Good time management skills: It is sometime crucial when an individual is sent abroad suddenly may be tomorrow. A human resource professional dealing global assignments, do not know when he has to assist a senior-level executive who has to go abroad. The challenge here is dealing with different time zones and culture and the human resource professional must have the expertise required for the purpose. The job is certainly rewarding but can be stressful and frustrating when confronted with red tape syndrome and corrupt employees. However, chance to work in international setting outweighs the frustrations and challenges.

Steps to an IT career choice depends on, like any other profession, deciding first what is the objective. Whether one desires to obtain a technical certification or not? Whether some one is interested in learning programming language? In fact, one may hear or come across seemingly endless types of questions and answers. This is because the technology field is enormously big, with innumerable career opportunities from network engineering to database administrators or Internet security et al.

But one thing is relevant for those who intends to start an IT career, is to avoid the expensive, time consuming training courses unless, of course, one is very knowledgeable about the course, his capabilities and career he is opting.

One should attend Industry Organization Meetings. Technologists working in the Industry can provide proper guidance to potential new comers in the field. These technologists in their own interest and quest to get new hands in the appropriate field, may act as mentors for the new comers whom they found to be worth, to embark on a IT career most suited to the candidate.

For those who are just planning an IT career, it’s best to avoid the temptation to jump into any training program that they could lay their hand on unless you know it’s the right program and career path for you. Instead of exploring on his own by picking and choosing from the list of mix-and-match steps to get into an unknown arena of the IT profession and what may or may not turn out to be fulfilling for him, it is always better to go to those experienced technologists of the trade who are available in various forums and Industrial Fairs, Meetings etc. with the very purpose of counseling the would be incumbents.  Such Technologists or Technocrats are in many cases equipped with their own training programs where the new incumbents may be inducted for the required training with the creamy layers of job guarantees.

A marketing professional as a rule knows the importance of branding a product. What is expected of him is to build his own brand by writing a proper resume so as to differentiate himself from his competitors, convey his worth and get the result nay interview.

Marketing professionals must bear in mind always that their own resume writing is the most important marketing document that they may be writing in their life and on which depends their success or failure in life, career wise. A marketing professional must use the same principle of creating a great marketing campaign, in the writing of his own resume, which should stand head and shoulder above the rest of the crowd.

The resume of a marketing professional should always be value based. He should pin point the key strength of his own and the value he would bring to the emplyer. He should mention the highlights of what his career encompasses and indicate in no uncertain terms the significant accomplishments he has delivered to his employer. A marketing personnel has that advantage when he has to write his own resume because he knows how to market the product. He may use the same technique to show the benefits and not the features while marketing himself on paper for a job.

Many experts in the trade are of the view that the most effective way to focus one’s resume is to differentiate oneself from the competition by using bulleted statements of accomplishment to show quantified results. These experts are of the view that one of the main mistake a marketing professional make is in their failure to quantify the results in the resume they write.

Today’s marketers need to pointedly showcase their own symbiosis between sales vis-à-vis their efforts and highlight in no uncertain terms their quantified impact on the business.

Retailers are generally supposed to be many faceted individuals and their skills and expertise can make them suitable for various career options viz. administrative, sales, purchase, store management, supervision, training, planning, advertising , budgeting etc. The point of contention is to pinpoint the key area of choice and then craft a suitable resume to highlight the skill.

Once a retailer knows his aptitude and desire to opt for a new job , he /she  should customize the resume and forward the same to the employer.

Now, all the resumes are not alike. There are functional resumes which highlights what the person is capable of doing rather than what he is doing or so far done. If the person concerned is interested to shift his base from one type of job to another, say, from sails to retailing or vice-versa; he should rather write a functional resume. There is another type of resumes like chronological resumes, which will show the incumbent’s experience in a particular trade year by year. If somebody wants to stick to the particular type of job what he had been doing or still doing but want a jump or upward revision, he may better opt for this type of chronological resumes

It is very necessary to remember that resumes are one way to advertise oneself to the prospective employer. One must begin all statements with an action verb like experimented, administered, improved et al. Everything written should have a positive note like “job accomplishments” and not negatively like  “responsibilities included”. In other words a resume is intended to capture the imagination of an employer in such a way that he will be inclined to call the candidate for an interview. It is seen that a good resume make an employer confident about a candidate’s usefulness in the company even before the interview and that is what it should be the objective of a real good resume.