Being ready for a new career opportunity

Being ready for a new career opportunity– internal or external

The Foundational concepts listed below apply to all roles and is the best framework to, in your own words, articulate the significant aspects of your work experience.

Teamwork: How well, and what you did, to build and maintain positive relationships with coworkers.
Customer service: What lengths you went to assist your customers, coworkers in your role.
Attention to detail: What steps you took to ensure accuracy in executing your tasks.
Time management/Organization: What methods you employ to stay on track.
Leadership: How you’ve ‘stepped-up’ in the right situations.

SEL- The Significant Event Log is the place you track what you’ve done and what you’ve learned. The SEL is easier to maintain as you go because we all forget the little, albeit significant, things we do every day that provides/supports evidence for our qualifications and career confidence. Tracking significant events as they happen results in a more robust collection of responses, that’s available to draw upon whenever unexpected career opportunities arise.
  This log can be written and stored in any format; choose one that works best for you (I use an excel spreadsheet, others use Notepad, Word… digital or analog… etc.) You’re creating/maintaining stories that are available to use at any stage of the application process and contain examples, GOOD AND BAD, constructed from positive statements of fact originating from understanding and self-awareness.

·       Start with listing your daily role responsibilities, projects- special or otherwise, favors for other teams, above and beyond tasks, and write out their significance in words anyone can understand.

·       Begin broadly describing the Situation.

·       Then detail the Task-Actions you put into motion.

·       State the Result, outcome, of the actions that were carried out.

·       Add any Reflections on what you would have done differently, now knowing the eventual outcome.

Resume
One page, comprehensive and simple. High level, relevant - descriptions tailored to the above foundational concepts.

Cover letter – Standard format, I recommend…

·       1st paragraph: Introduction and stated interest in position.

·       2nd paragraph: What you’ve been doing in most recent role.

·       3rd paragraph: Any relevant experience from past Work History.

·       4th paragraph: Summary of skills to support your selection for the position and briefly reiterating why you would be the best choice; effectively communicating your openness to speak further if needed.

Interview
Prior to interview: Know your SEL in STARR format (Situation, Task-Action, Resolution, Reflection,) inside and out and you will always have an answer that best fits/relates to the interviewer’s question(s). It’s critical to truly know your weaknesses so you can discuss what you’ve learned and corrected along the way. This demonstrates you have self-awareness, that you’re coachable, and will place you at the head of the pack.

Responding to interview questions: Stories should be told through the lens of the Foundational Concepts above; always positive, absent of finger pointing, blaming, shaming, or negativity of any kind because words matter and speak to your attitude.
  Highlight the good you did rather than the shortcomings of others. A bad situation can be described without naming names, the significance is in how you handle it.
  Provide clear, concise answers that don’t jump topics or circle back to the beginning of answers; silence is okay, and it won’t help to fill it. Near the end of the interview, it’s common to be asked if you have any questions – That’s the opportunity to address further clarification for any of your answers.

Post interview: A thank you never hurts.

Closing thoughts: The methods above only work if you put the necessary effort into self-analysis and telling the truth.