Like in any trade or business, there are tools of the trade, tools of the industry. Your career is no different. You must have / should have tools that equip you to get the job done, please your listeners or viewers, whether they be tangible or intangible tools. Some of the tools will be large, some will be small, but all will have there own intended purpose to get done what you want done in an as efficient and effective time as possible. Let me share with you what I feel to be the most important tangible career tools.
Career tools to a young person facing into final examinations and seeking the ideal job / career afterwards are numerous, but let me fine-tune the tangible career tools down to five for now i.e. the ones you can feel, touch, see:
- A Qualification
- A Career Field / Title
- Cover Letter & CV
- Interview Attire
- Smartphone
A Qualification: Unfortunately, in today’s world of work, many employers want there new recruits to have some form of qualification linked to their ideal job / career. They see it as saying you have been trained and / or are qualified in an area that they specialize in as a business. It is important that the qualification has been accredited by a well-known established academic body, is of a high enough level and is reasonably up-to-date, so that it is a career tool that will help you secure employment.
A Career Field / Title:
When people ask you what are you doing or what are looking for as a job / career, you must know precisely what it is i.e. where you want to work. Having a specific career field and then one to three jobs / careers within that career field always impresses people. They know what you want, you know where you are going and then they can help you get there. Knowing and believing in your ideal job / career is a key career tool.
Cover Letter (CL) & CV:
Probably the most important of all the career tools is your CL and CV. When applying for jobs directly to an organisation, they normally write, ‘please apply with a CL and CV’. The CL and CV are both tailored around the organisation that you are applying to using words, statements, language from the job description, job advertisement and / or the organisation website. A CL is not sent to a recruitment agency or to an On-Line job post, unless requested.
Interview Attire:
Investing in proper, professional interview attire is a tangible career tool that many people underestimate or fail to see the importance of. Wearing clothes to an interview that are really meant to be worn to a different occasion with respect to colours and design is a common sight by interviewers. Consider business etiquette, colour navy blue and don’t distract the interviewers by that ‘shirt’, that ‘top’, that ‘suit’ or that ‘dress’. And always go to the bathroom to check your attire before walking into the interviewer room.
Smartphone:
Most of us possess or are about to possess a smartphone sometime in the future. This is a career tool that has many uses and benefits for many reasons, most of them obvious;
- Diary management
- Researching organisations
- Viewing job advertisements
- Viewing job descriptions
- Taking business / interview calls
Start investing in good, strong. life-long career tools for your career toolbox…
