The world is a big place and seems quite overwhelming when faced with the uneasy prospect of fending for oneself or worse; if one has dependents to care of. No matter what your qualifications or skills, the rapidity of changing urban landscapes inviting millions to find their calling with only a few options available can deter even the most committed.

At such a juncture, comes to handy the wisdom of the ages. A calm determined person can weather the hardiest storm, provided he keeps focus on his objectives. The groundwork put in by self in preparing for all possible challenges can be put to naught if the person is not ready to adapt. The changing world thus calls for change and more so, the ability to adapt to the change. The globe is filled with stories of graduates having trained in a single discipline only to have turned around to find unmitigated success in a totally different field. The focus here remained in doing that which appealed to the soul and found acceptable by the society at large.

The individual who has the self discipline and commitment to achieve what he/she wants to achieve in life and NOT what his peers or family want to achieve, may discard the notions of getting rich quickly just to retire early. Well, the real human can never retire. Just such an option, is involving oneself in Outdoor Activities, a career which never is really a career but rather an intrinsic calling. The lure of the outdoor has allowed many to achieve what they really wanted in life, being active in doing what they wanted with enough money to do it with.

Later, when the tired old body no longer allows one to trek up the Grand Canyon or allow the mighty wind to fill the parasails, the thrill seeker sits and ruminates upon life, all that he missed but many could never hope to achieve. Such careers are in the field of kayaking, trekking, safari, mountain climbing, wildlife photography just to name a few. And those who love doing this job can never stop doing it. One just has to meet such an individual whose zest and thrill for life will never let one be bound by the four walls of an office or a chair. So, take a hike and enjoy the world.

The questions we will cover in this article include:

1. What are my career options?

2. How does the posting process work?

3. What do I look for in a job posting?

4. What should I include in my application?

Introduction:

The questions above are often asked by job seekers. What are my employment options? What are my best traits and skills? How can I predict what they will ask in a job interview? What are they looking for? Well there are many ways to to approach these questions. One of the great sources of information to answer such questions lie in your friends and the other in the job ad.

Question 1: What are my employment options?

Career choices should not be made in haste; they involve thought, organization and planning. To begin a career planning process, it is important to assess your experience, values, skills and interests. This should first involve a self assessment, self assessment tools and workshops are offered by Service Canada like the “Career Navigator”, an online career assessment tool. You can access this tool at http://www.jobsetc.ca or you may visit your nearest HRDC employment centre or private career counsellors. However, a very good yet often over looked resource is your friends! Friends, colleagues and managers can help verify the reality of a self assessment. Begin by asking yourself these questions:

What past activities/positions have been important to my development? Why? (Consider experience inside and outside the company).

Personal values give meaning to our work and provide personal fulfillment. Personal values may include such things as being challenged, serving people, having a high income, being independent at work, etc. What are my most important values? Which of them are present in my current job? Which are not?

What are my most significant accomplishments? What skills are identified in these?

Interests are often expressed as working with data, people, things or ideas. Interest in working with DATA represents skills required to record, communicate, evaluate, and organize facts or data about goods and services. People who like using these skills typically enjoy working with figures, systems, and routines. Interest in working with PEOPLE represents skills used in helping, informing, teaching, serving, persuading, entertaining, motivating, selling, and directing other people. People who use these skills like to work for changes in other people’s behavior. Interest in working with THINGS represents skills used in making, repairing, transporting, and servicing. People with these skills like using tools and machinery and understanding how things work. An interest in working with IDEAS represents skills used in being creative, designing conceptual models and systems, and experimenting with words, figures, and music. People who like using these skills typically enjoy creating, discovering, interpreting, synthesizing, and abstract thinking.

In which of these areas do my interests lie? Which of my interests are met in my current job? Which are not?

While it is up to each of us to take responsibility for our own career, your manager can help by giving feedback, encouragement, information and ideas. He or she can also help you set goals, which need not involve moving up. Consider special assignments, lateral moves, and temporary assignments as developmental opportunities that may lead to career goals.

After you have answered the questions listed above or taken a self-assessment workshop, take another look at the career opportunities that interests you. You should now be in a better position to decide if it is a fit. What’s more, if it is, you should be well on your way to completing the application and preparing for an interview.

Question 2: How does the recruitment and selection process work?

The current recruitment and selection process generally follows the summary of steps below. As with many processes, however, slight variations may occur due to individual circumstances.

1. Job vacancy identified

2. Manager contacts Human Resources

3. Job analysis conducted by hiring manager and Human Resources to identify the criteria for the Careers posting

4. Posting issued in Careers

5. Applications received and acknowledged by Human Resources

6. Initial screen (short-listing) completed

7. Interview guide developed

8. Interviews conducted

9. References checked

10. Selection made

11. Position offered to successful candidate

12. Unsuccessful candidates notified

13. Feedback as requested

Question 3: What do I look for in a Job posting?

* The Job Posting

The job posting does a few basic things. A thorough review of the posting discloses not only pertinent details of the position itself but what to include in your application, and what you can anticipate in the behavioral interview. The following components are included in the posting:

* Job Competition Number

If there is a job competition number must be indicated on the application or covering letter.

* Closing Date

When are applications are accepted until? What is the closing date.

* Department, Location, Position Reports To, Classification, Salary Level, Salary Range

Essential details of the position may influence your decision to apply on the posting.

* Essential Requirements

The following items contain qualifications, skills and experience that through the job analysis, it has been determined the candidate must possess in order to be considered for the position.

* Experience and Education

Education and experience are used as screening criteria. It is important that you respond to each bulleted item individually by detailing how your formal education, work experience, etc. will provide the qualities looked for in a candidate. In your description include the types of experience, responsibilities or key activities, the scope of projects you have been involved in, the content of any courses you have taken, and whatever will make the hiring team aware of what you have to offer with respect to the qualifications asked for.

* Technical Requirements

Also used as screening criteria. Address each identified need separately. Outline the skills you have and the amount of time you spent gaining the skills, how you have applied the skills, etc.

* Managerial/Non-Technical Requirements

These requirements need not be addressed in the application. They will not be used as initial screening criteria but are the behavioral traits the interview questions will be based on.

* Additional Desired Requirements

May be used as an initial screening criteria. Describe how your background (education, experience, coursework, etc.) has developed your ability in each requirement identified.

* Forward Application To

The application is to be forwarded to the address indicated on the posting. Any questions concerning the posting process, etc. may be directed to the Human Resources Advisor or hiring manager whose names are identified at the bottom of the posting.

* For Additional Information Please Call

In most cases, this is the manager of the position. This is the individual to call with any questions about the position, duties, work group, etc.

Question 4: What should I include in my application?

When preparing your application, address EACH of the bulleted items under Experience and Education, Technical Requirements and Additional Desired Requirements. Your response should be designed to give the reader sufficient information about your skills and abilities, how you got them, how you have used or applied them, etc. to enable the hiring team to determine to what degree your skills match what is required for the position. Remember that the initial screening or “short-listing” is done using only this information.

* Personal Resume

The attachment of your personal resume to the application form may provide additional information about you.

* Covering Letter

Usually, students in college level are being told to maintain high grades in order to obtain a good record in their transcripts which is very useful in entering to the world of business, health care and many more. Employment in the real world is actually tough and competitive. You will never get a chance to prove your skills to the employer or hiring company if you will not put on your confidence every time you will encounter these persons. That is why before you will apply; make sure that you already set your mind. Mind setting is a great thing to maintain optimism and self-esteem. Use all the trainings that you had when you are still studying as your valuable credentials.

Be determined with your goals. You will not ever make it if giving up is part of your options. When you are determined to attain a goal that you’ve set, you will definitely strive hard to reach it. Just be persistent and take every failure as a new challenge and experience. To get frustrated and depressed in your failures is a normal reaction but make sure that you will learn from it and move on. This real world especially the market is very competitive. It can even be described as survival of the fittest. That is why you must hang on and push through. Your courage, determination and persistence will surely help you in obtaining a sweet success in the future.

Set your ambitions. Being ambitious is not a bad attitude. Actually, it is a good motivator to keep you going because you have something in mind that you want to reach. However, do not expect that you will hit your goal in an instant without doing anything. you should already accept that part of your great ambitions are the difficulties and struggles that might come along your way so do not be so relaxed in pursuing the career that you’ve always wanted.

Enhance your skills from time to time. Since learning is a continuous process, it means to say that there is no end for learning new skills and talents each day. Always be ready at all times when you go for job interviews. Be firm in your answers especially when the employer is asking for your credential. Do not hesitate to tell everything that can impress your employer so that he will already think of hiring you based on the confidence and good performance that you’ve shown in the interview. Just always remember not to disappoint anyone so that you will maintain a positive impression for yourself that anyone could respect and recognize.

These graduates will begin to suspect that a great career is ahead of them, when they see the pay scales offered in some of the careers and employment information that they see. Some of these young graduates might not be totally familiar with what a yearly salary should be in their field, and will take the careers and employment information about pay and benefits when they are first offered, without giving it a second thought.

There are many companies that are listed on these employment websites, and all of them are interested in hiring people with stellar qualifications, and they are clearly focused on getting them hired on with their company at the lowest salary price possible. They are not concerned with the careers and employment opportunities that these people have dreamed of for such a long time.

These employment office hiring specialist are interested in the employment information that is contained on their resumes though. They are looking for the best value return on their hiring dollars, and generally prefer to hire people with a lot of experience in the position that they are hiring for.

Many of these career opportunities can be found using the search engines that are offered on many Internet websites. If a person is interested in working for a Government agency, then all they would need is to find the government website that lists all of the careers and employment information for the positions that they are hiring for.

The career information that Government agencies list might be very brief in nature and may seem incomplete. Government hiring agencies will generally list the date that the position became opened, and will also provide the closing date that it will use to determine the last day that applicants can send in their applications.

A position description is normally part of the employment description that is provided on a Government job notice. Any other pertinent requirement to make a suitable application will also be listed in the careers & employment information on the Government website.

Some of the information provided on Government job announcements will also provide preferences for military service too. These are definitely good paying positions of employment and the careers and employment information is always read completely before an interview

While growing up, children may change their careers and employment choices a hundred times, before they reach high school. Many high school students are visited by military professionals who offer many careers and employment choices that will last a lifetime. These careers and employment choices are available only if the high school students meets the specific program requirements, and many high school students find out that they qualify for many jobs that are offered by the military recruiters that visit their schools.

The careers and employment choices in any military service are classified according to qualifications that an applicant shows through rigorous testing cycles that are commonly referred to as ASVAB scores. These armed services vocational aptitude battery scores will show the strengths and weaknesses in a person’s education. Their careers and employment choices are centered toward the strengths, and weaknesses will be worked on through other military training sources.

With the careers and employment choices offered by all military services, children’s dreams of one day becoming a firefighter, police officer, or even a person that works in the medical field and drives an ambulance can be a reality in a very short time. The careers and employment choices offered in the military services are always offered with a guarantee of paid training included in the job offer.

If the person is highly trained in the computer field, there are many careers and employment choices available in the military services, and most of them can be found in exotic overseas locations. There are more choices available to military members after they join the military services. With their careers and employment choices taken care of, they can start to think about how they can use their military benefits to save for retirement, and enjoy the low cost travel opportunities that could take them around the world if they cared to go.

In the military, people can make careers and employment choices, and change their mind at a later date. Their careers can still be centered on earning a retirement, but they are also afforded the opportunity to try new experiences, and switch their jobs to something else, which is especially helpful when their job classification is overmanned, and the only way to move up the advancement ladder is to switch to a job classification that has many job positions to be filled by somebody that is trained to perform that employment position.