Allied Vocational Rehabilitation
Welcome to Allied Vocational Rehabilitation School. We realize that every person has a unique situation. At Allied, we tailor your education to prepare you for a career that suits your needs. As a result, you are faced with new possibilities and the chance for a new future. As part of the Allied team you are welcome to post comments and newsworthy articles on this Vocational Rehabilitation Blog.
Monday, March 02, 2009
It's a given that most vocational rehabilitation (voc rehab) programs will offer a component on job search skills. It's one thing to get career retraining, but it's another all together to market those skills and to secure a good position.
We know that the United States is now in a serous recession, which means high unemployment and serious competition for jobs. Today the job market is what you'd call a "seller's market," which means that companies can be very picky about who they hire.
The first thing to realize during the job hunt is that there is no substitute for education and solid job skills -- voc rehab students should know that the fanciest resume in the world can't substitute real training and knowledge. Making sure you get your career training at an accredited voc rehab school should be your first priority before you worry about landing a job. Having made that clear, let's look at what you need for a successful job search.
It's likely that your voc rehab counselor will give you tips on how to write a resume and a cover letter. It's important to understand that the resume and the cover letter have a complementary and necessary relationship -- you can't have one without the other.
The resume is a kind of transcript of all the places that you've worked. Employers want to scan your education, job titles, length of employment and your job tasks over the years. The resume should be short, honest and as direct as possible; this isn't the place to go into extensive detail about how great you are.
The cover letter, in contrast to the resume, is where you sell them on why you're the best fit for their company. What you do is lay out the case -- with proof -- why you are the best match for that particular job. You can't send a standard cover letter to each employer -- you must customize it for each new job you are applying for.
While some employers don't require a cover letter, resist the temptation to send only a resume, for it often doesn't make the case for why you're good for that particular job. Again, a resume and a cover letter operate together.
As long as you keep at and continue to apply for jobs, you'll eventually get yourself a job interview. Now it's important to see that a job interview is not a formality or a sign that you've got the job. Generally it means you passed the first screening process and are one of several candidates who -- on paper -- are a good fit for the job.
It's important to understand who you will be interviewing with at the company. Larger companies, for example, will have a human resources department and you may meet with them first. They want to make sure that your job history checks out and that you fit the broad skills required in the job description. Quite often this interview is conducted over the phone. Once the human resources department has cleared you, you'll generally interview with someone in the department you’re hoping to enter. It's important to appreciate that you’ll be interviewing with people who may some day be your coworkers. This is where you must convince them that you can come into their department and get the work done.
As with all interviews, the key to success is to prepare by going over the company's website and rehearsing answers to common interview questions. Good luck! more>>
