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Hey everyone,
I've finally started to look for a full time job in my business career and lately I've been trying to search for jobs that deal with contract management or business analysis (Both of which I have 2+ years of experience for.) The thing that's been getting to me is that most of the jobs that I see online for the areas that I want to go into require at least 3-5+ years of job experience or a master's degree.
Would it be wise to drive down to the headquarters of a company to hand in a resume or ask for an interview (I was really thinking about doing this for Amazon because they just opened 12 slots in my area) or should I just keep sending out my resume to jobs online and hopefully wait for someone to reply me with a decent offer?
Thanks TL
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Spelling advice correctly is a good start?.
Ask for an interview / resume for sure.
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United States3824 Posts
If you personalize your resumes for each of these companies, call and say "hey you say you want X, but I have Y, would you be willing to consider an application that has these other qualifications" then you might get more luck trying to apply for these jobs that you are unquallified for.
Then again they might say it's a firm prereq.
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Driving somewhere, when they ask for better qualifications, isn't that worthwhile imo. But would be a good idea to call them, you could go through a lot of employers with phone in same time it'd take to travel to one.
You can also call companies of your trade that don't have job advertisements up, asking if they could use you.
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Most companies put in those qualifications with the slim hope someone who meets them will apply. Apply to them no matter what qualifications they want.
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Cover letters and telephones get you the job. Apply for everything that interests you even if you don't quite fit the bill. If you feel you've got the skills to do the job, write a good cover letter which explains how the experience you do have can be applied towards the job they are trying to fill.
Key point #2 -> don't fill your resumé with past responsibilities and old job descriptions, fill it with past achievements. Don't describe the kind of work you did in a past job, but outline the quality of the work that you did. How many contracts negotiated, how did you exceed expectations, how did you save the past company money (and by how much?) --> talk percentages, talk projects completed, talk throughput, talk dollars and cents. Show how you can be successful, not just competent.
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Be proactive. What I mean by this is if you think an idea might work, there really is no downside to doing it where not doing it has a massive downside. Like driving in and force-feeding it? That's a great idea! They think they want somebody with 3-5 years experience, but prove to them you're what they're looking for and they'll hire you. That's really all it comes down to. If you drive in, hand in a resume and leave then make sure to send whoever helped you a thankyou note. Little things go a long way, especially if you're different in a good sense.
You should definitely ask for interviews, too. Do your homework about the company beforehand. If they're hiring somebody for a position you've performed before for another company, get your stats straight so you can roll in and during the interview say "I can do x, y, and z for you guys in n amount of time. I've done it before with my older company and gotten these results (show them your accomplishments) but I've thought of some better ways to meet these needs by doing Q." ran out of variables and I have no idea what you actually do, but plug yourself baby.
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On August 04 2010 06:42 Kralic wrote: Most companies put in those qualifications with the slim hope someone who meets them will apply. Apply to them no matter what qualifications they want.
Yeah this for sure. However it really helps if you are a bit underqualified(lol as if it matters in most positions) that you get a contact at the company that can help you get in for an interview.
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Yeah, I work in HR. These "so-called" qualifications/requirements are really just the upper level of what we look for when we recruit. Of course we will prefer someone who exceeds expectations, but if you do well enough, show enough character and potential. That increases your chances of getting considered together with the once who do "meet" the requirements. Two years experience isnt all that different to 3 years.
If you're going the online route, don't just sit there, apply. But not too much. Don't shotgun your resume. Kurtis the Turtle is right, do your research. This shows initiative and preparation on your part. Also, it keeps you from looking dumb when the interviewer asks "What do you know about us." It is quite a "plus point" if you are able to mention specifics and what not. Just be familiar so as not to look like a total fool.
jgad has a good advice too but do not make the mistake of using too many keywords. It kind of makes you seem like you're trying too hard.
So yeah, Good luck!
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Translations:
4 years experience MINIMUM = 2 years experience PREFERRED Excellent oral and presentation skills = You can speak English properly Good team player = You're not an asshole Exceptional technical skills = Can you use Word and Excell? Strong leadership skills = ??? Dedicated and enthusiastic = You're good at smooth-talking
The point is, don't worry if you don't meet all the requirements because chances are, your competition won't either . I don't know if driving to their HQ and handing in a resume is the best use of your time but it certainly doesn't hurt. Calling up managers also doesn't hurt but most of the time, they'll probably ask you to mail in a resume or apply online. Throw your resume out to as many positions as you can and you're guaranteed to hit something! Good luck!
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On August 04 2010 08:51 88.inspades wrote: but do not make the mistake of using too many keywords. It kind of makes you seem like you're trying too hard.
Agreed 100% Stick to the topics at hand - facts and figures, not headlines and sales pitches.
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I don't like submitting resumes online. It's hardly worked for me. It feels like your resume goes into a void of no return where all the other resumes hang out and once in a while a supernova will erupt which will nuke all resumes to restart the universe.
I feel like the best thing to do is to find someone in a position of power and express your interest in working for them. Handing your resume in may not be a good idea if it just means that instead of the online void, it goes to the filing cabinet void.
The other thing you should do is to exploit your network. Ask everyone you know for contacts for jobs. You might feel like a bum but seriously everyone is really glad to help.
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find the balance between sounding sophisticated and being real to yourself.
Obviously, no employer is going to like it if you start swearing naturally and tell them about how you cheesed that last protoss (take that)... but they're actually not going to like it if you just spout impressive words and have a fake smile plastered to your face all day. The key is finding that sweet spot where the interviewer knows you're qualified, but where he/she also hears a bit of your own personality. After all, the point is to differentiate yourself from the over-9000 other applicants, and guaranteed, a big majority are going to try and overemphasize the "sophisticated & educated" aspect, and they'll all look exactly the same.
How do you find that sweet spot? Practice. True, each interviewer is different, and they all have their own different sweet spot. However, they're all people in the end, and you can just do that fine-tuning as soon as you sit down at the interview, judging from the attitude and the first few words that come out of the interviewer's mouth.
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