Do not schedule any important meeting on the interview day

This is to be done to stop you from messing up either of the two, and to keep your mind uncluttered on the very day. An important meeting scheduled on the day of interview will engross a significant part of your thinking brain, which will distract you during the interview as well. You should, therefore, avoid scheduling anything important on the interview day.

Do not use office mail for communication

I know you follow this, but still I felt like telling you that never ever use the e-mail ID given by your company to schedule or fix a meeting. This could spell bad luck for your existing job, which I presume you do not want to lose, unless you get something solid on hand.

Negotiate as much as you can

The best part of searching for a new job when you already have one is the fact that you can bargain with the prospective employer from a position of strength. Unlike a fresher who needs a job then and there, you do not have that urgency as you already have a job. You should, therefore, try to get the job on your terms. This is very much possible.

Being already employed, you already know the tricks of an interview meeting, so I left them out of this article, and instead mentioned those that are relevant for you alone, and not for a fresher. You must put these tips in use.

Act now, do not wait

Waiting is not the game you are in the position to play. Go out and take action. Make this “out of job”
a temporary thing. You indeed need some time to figure out what you want, but do it as quickly as you can. Waiting for long will delay the possibility of getting hired. Get out of home now, and start searching for the job that suits you.

Think and decide about career change

If you are tired of doing the same thing again and again, then this is the perfect time to consider a plan change. Make a list of things that you are interested in, and match them against the ability you have. Bingo! You have the list of alternative careers in your hand. It is time to act now, make a resume befitting the needs of new job and start shooting them off.

Go temping

Temping may not offer you permanent solution, but it can fill the gap. You can also use it to gain experience of a new job in which you want to shift. Temping can provide a viable stopgap solution that gives you experience which further can help you in securing a fulltime job.

You should start putting these things to use as soon as you are laid off. These will work wonder and save you from the agony of unemployment, and will help you pay your bills.

Benefits of a checklist

A checklist offers many benefits, and unlike its how-to part, it does not require us to invest lots of time reading it. A checklist offers the following benefits:

• It helps us know what we require to accomplish in order to get the work done before we embark upon.
• It works as a guiding post, when we get stuck in the middle of the project and ask now what.
• A checklist helps us verify if we have missed something in the project.
• A checklist is easily scanable, and it should be kept handy when doing some work, as it will help us remember what needs to be done.
• A checklist can help us properly prepare the budget keeping each item in mind.
• It can prove to be a valuable asset when it comes to making a business decision.

Conclusion

One must keep a checklist handy whenever one embarks upon a new job. As said above, it will prove to be a very valuable tool right from the beginning.

Make peace with yourself before you try anything on your boss.  Cope with the fact that they aren’t rude or angry with you because of your job performance.  Rather it’s just a negative personality trait that your boss has.  Just like a bully, the bad behavior is a social issue that they have, not something you’ve done wrong.  So don’t let it bother you as much as it might, because their rude attitude has nothing to do with you.

Asses the problem, and after you’ve made peace with the fact that the anger isn’t about you, evaluate your options.  If your bad boss is a real problem, you may have to take the issue higher within the company.  Consider your options for reporting an issue like this within the company, and also your legal rights if you feel the treatment is completely unwarranted.  Otherwise this may be time to asses your career.

If you feel this problem can’t be solved within the company, you might just have to suck it up and look for a new job.  If you don’t like the way things are going at your current company, you just might have to pack up and go to a different one.  If you just can’t work with your boss, and don’t have any other avenue to correct the situation, it’s not a bad idea to start again somewhere else.

-Try keeping a list of achievements as you accomplish them, as that always comes in handy later.  This way you have detailed evidence for why you’ve been a good employee this term.  Having the facts to back up your claims is always a very important thing to have on your side.

-With that great list of achievements you’ve been keeping, now you can make use of it in the actual writing of your review.  On almost any personal review you’ll notice many categories seem very redundant, almost as if they’re asking for the same information multiple times.  Take that list of achievements and decide which fits into each category the best.  Have a copy of your job description on hand so that you can better distribute them into the right categories.

-Try to find a comfortable middle ground when you rate your actual performance level.  You don’t want to show that you feel you’re a perfect employee.  Otherwise your boss will feel you believe you’ve hit your peak.  In which case if your boss doesn’t agree, you almost make yourself expendable by looking like an employee that’s given all they have to offer.  Don’t mark yourself too high or too low.  This way if you’re one of the top employees you show that you feel you have room for growth, so that you can become even better.

First off, education is your friend, so in reinvigorating any career, participating in new educational opportunities is a must.  Go back to school part time, get an associates degree in some aspect of your field, or go further, go for a masters degree.  Anything that helps you understand the field better, and that also helps you show others you’re well qualified for today’s job market.

Volunteer to help network yourself, as well as learn vital new skills.  Opportunities like internships at major companies are always available, and go a very long way in helping you get vital career skills as well as get your name out there.  The connections you make with other people while volunteering together could prove invaluable down the line.  So always look to make new social connections, and look for new opportunities to learn new skills.

Finally, make the most of a new job opportunity once you receive one.  Work hard, and show that those educational experiences paid off in full.  Show the boss that you’ve become a very important component of the team that they can’t do without.  Nothing says that like excelling at your job, and earning the recognition that you really deserve.

In case you didn’t know the term, padding your resume refers to adding accolades that aren’t true about yourself.  Whether it be false work history items, or false educational accomplishments, or even dishonest community contributions.  All are considered padding, and are wrong in the sense that you are being dishonest to companies that you are trying to attract.  Nothing really sets you on the wrong foot with a new company more than them discovering you lied in order to get the job.

Which is why if you are unhappy about how something appears on your resume, you should take advantage of explaining yourself in your cover letter.  If you don’t like a particular gap in your employment history, you have ample opportunity to put a positive spin on things through your cover letter.  The same with anything else you feel uncomfortable about, whether it be education, etc.

But mainly, padding is bad because it sets a bad precedent for your new job.  Even if you get the job, you’re not presenting yourself correctly.  That puts you and your company in an awkward position, as tasks you don’t have the skill to accomplish may be expected of you, and your new company is getting an employee that doesn’t have the skill set expected of them.  If it’s found out you lied on your resume, most places won’t hesitate to terminate you immediately, so that little bit of padding can really come back to bite you.

- Firstly, dress appropriately.  I shouldn’t even have to mention this one, but some people undervalue the importance of looking well groomed and professional.  In other words, always leave the jeans and sneakers at home.

- Research, research, research.  Make sure you know the company you’re interviewing with as well as possible.  The in’s and out’s of what the company is about, how they function, and the goals they are working towards as specifically as possible.  The more information you know the easier that you can help conversation freely flow, which makes you look like a person interested and informed in the company to which you are applying.  That is always good.

- Ask real questions about the company and the position to outline your interest and willingness to get and excel at the job to which you are applying.   Don’t try to control the interview with your questions however, as that tactic fails about as often as it succeeds, but make yourself appear as interested as you are in the position.  Always do what you can to let the interviewer know that you want the job.

- Don’t be afraid to talk yourself up.  This is your interview, don’t waste your time by not making yourself look like the ideal candidate for the position to which you applied.  Go in confident, and outline the features you have that make you a fantastic candidate for the job, including your desire to do the job.  Stay away from suggesting you are the perfect candidate however, as this is more of a form statement made by too many people, and means nothing more than you are just trying to get a job.  Show real interest, it will make all the difference.

Of course there are many other factors that can determine how well an interview goes and your likelihood of getting a job after applying, but following those four steps is a fantastic start to helping you stand out from the rest of the applicants.