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The following sections briefly address some of the most common job searching challenges with accompanying links to strategy guides for more detailed information. Click one of the following hot-buttons to skip to a specific topic:
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| Applications | Resumes | Cover Letters | Interviews | Job Fairs | Barriers | Criminal Background |
Need more help? The training team at the Adams County WBC is here for you! We provide the following additional resources to support you in your career development and job searching needs:
Check out our virtual Job Readiness and Soft Skills workshops.
Check out the Job Seeker Workbook for step-by-step guidance through the entire job searching journey.
Meet with an Adams County WBC Trainer for an individual career guidance session (in-person at the Westminster office or virtual via Zoom. Email [email protected] to schedule an appointment.
Know What You Want
To set ourselves up for a successful job search, it is important to identify what we want to do for a living. This may seem obvious, but job seekers are often more focused on money than what a particular job might be like to work at on a day-to-day basis or how one position might lead to the next. Employers spend a lot of money training new employees, so they want people who are going to stick around. If we have a history of “job hopping,” or moving from job to job after only a short time at each, or a history of being fired for poor performance or attendance, it makes it harder for us to find a job later, especially good jobs.
For this reason, as well as setting ourselves up to thrive in our careers, we want to spend time exploring who we are as a professional, understanding our workplace values and preferences, and identifying our strengths and skills so we make good employment choices. Yes, this requires extra work, but it also helps us build a strong job searching strategy. When we know who we are, what we want to do, what we have to offer, and how to communicate that to the employer, we will be much more successful in getting jobs and keeping them.
Check out the Adams County WBC Career Exploration and Marketing Yourself Successfully workshops.
Employment Applications
Many employers use applications to screen job candidates and decide the next steps in the hiring process. A job seeker may be asked to fill out an application when applying for a job or before an interview, and they may be on the internet or on paper. Because they are time consuming and repetitive, a job seeker might not be as careful as they should be in filling out the form. To avoid sabotaging your chances of getting an interview, check out these tips to make sure you are making a great first impression with the employer.
Resumes
Resumes are often used to help employers learn more about job candidates and whether they might be a good fit for the positions they are hiring for. A resume helps market a job seeker for a particular position; it tells employers what we want them to know by advertising our key skills, accomplishments, training, and education in an easy-to-read, logical format. The purpose of a resume is to help us get an interview. If you are struggling in this area, check out these tips to help you write an effective resume.
Tailoring the Resume and Cover Letter
Cover Letters
Along with our resume, employers might use a cover letter to help make the decision on who to interview. A well-written cover letter compliments the resume by providing more detailed information about two or three key attributes the job seeker thinks will make them a great fit for the job they are applying for. In addition, we can explain why we want to work for the company we are targeting and/or the personal connection we have to this kind of work. For more information on how to craft a strong cover letter, click here.
Tailoring the Resume and Cover Letter
Interviews
Once we have captured the interest of the employer, our next step is to perform well in the interview. This is yet another opportunity to market the great candidate we are by skillfully communicating our experience, accomplishments, and skills for the job we are applying for. For many individuals, this can also be a very stressful process. They key to reducing interview nerves, is to prepare and practice. Check out these tips to help you take your interviewing performance to the next level.
Adams County WBC also offers Mock Interviews to help you build your interviewing skills. These practice interview sessions can be held in person at one of our offices, or virtually using Zoom. Please call 720.523.2400 for more information or email [email protected] for more information or scheduling.
Job Fairs
A job fair can be a great opportunity to connect with employers, learn more about job opportunities, and practice your marketing and networking skills. To increase our chances of getting hired through a job fair, it is important to take these events seriously and prepare as we would for an actual interview. Check out these tips to help you make the most out of that next job fair.
To present ourselves with confidence at a job fair, it is important to have a marketing approach in mind and build our networking skills. Consider taking the Adams County WBC Marketing Yourself Successfully and Elements of Networking workshops for more information.
Employment Barriers
There is no perfect job candidate. Each of us have challenges in our lives that can make it difficult to get jobs or keep them. Check out these tips to learn more about how to proactively address a few of the most common employer concerns.
Job Searching with a Criminal Background
When we have a criminal record (misdemeanor and felony convictions on our background report) job searching moves to a whole new level of challenging. To set ourselves up for success, we must be prepared to discuss our convictions with potential employers in a positive, strengths-based manner. Check out these tips to learn more about how to effectively discuss our criminal background as well as preparing a Letter of Explanation to help give us a competitive edge.
Letter of Explanation Sample 1
Letter of Explanation Sample 2
Letter of Explanation Sample 3
Letter of Explanation Sample 4
