Candidate Newsletter October 2007

In this Issue:

Topic of the Month: "Why Bother?"
Be Specific
ConstructionJobs.com Scholarship: Application Deadline Approaching!
NEW Feature! Ask the Construction Career Doctor!
Article: Do You Know the ABC's of Career Change?
This Issue's Cartoon!

Why Bother?

Do you ever have a day at work when everything goes wrong? Coffee gets spilled into your computer, someone you were counting on to get something done on time fails, a rainstorm of biblical proportions kept your crew from making any headway. In other words, something – or everything – went wrong and derailed your day.

Do you ever throw your hands up and think “Why bother?”

Well, if you’ve been in construction for a few decades, years, or weeks, you’ve probably had a frustrating day like that.

All you want at the end of the day is go home, kick your shoes off, eat dinner, play with the kids, maybe watch a game.

But think for a moment there, on your sofa, dog-tired and a fraction bent out of shape. When tomorrow morning rolls around, you’re going to get up, adjust your attitude, get to work on time, try again, and work toward finishing the project you’ve been trusted to finish.

And again, you might ask, “Why bother?”

Because posting a specific and up-to-date resume on our website (see the next article for help toward that goal) can do some of the following wonderful things:

• Advance your career.
• Allow you to grow with an established industry leader.
• Seek out work in a location that better suits where you want to live or how you want to live.
• Earn more money.
• Find a company that offers greater benefits.
• Work with less stress.
• Spend more time with your family.

No, ConstructionJobs.com is not a magic portal to some imaginary land of high-paying, easy projects where no one ever spills your coffee and rain never falls. But we do have relationships with great companies and listings of some of their most vital and immediate positions.

Register on our website. It’s easy and allows you to create a profile of yourself that will remind you – and alert others – of just how good you are at what you do.

Article by:
Michael Connell
Regional Account Executive
Construction Jobs, Inc

Be Specific

As discussed above, you can advance your career by posting your resume and a profile detailing your abilities on ConstructionJobs.com. We continue to work to become an ever-more trusted and solid source for top-flight construction professionals like you, and we continue to post coveted executive, management and trade positions for those professionals to review.

As the year winds down, as you think about improving your circumstances during 2008, we offer these tips to you as you decide how to present yourself as a candidate for consideration for the exciting and career-enhancing jobs that we post on our website.

Take a moment to read through these suggestions and make sure that the manner in which you represent yourself offers a potential employer the best and most accurate view of your history, accomplishments and potential.

REGISTER: To state the obvious first, make sure your resume is registered on ConstructionJobs.com. Hundreds of leading companies visit our site hoping to meet eager professionals like you, and they want that process to be quick and fruitful. You have to have a dog in the fight to have a chance: make sure your latest resume is easily accessible.

UPDATE: We see candidates languish on our site every year because they post an out-of-date resume which makes it seem as if their careers are stalled or stagnant. Be sure to keep your resume updated, listing your current company, recent projects, commendations you have received, and any professional development you have strived to pursue.

DISTINGUISH YOURSELF:You may be a top-notch Project Manager or Superintendent, but your name itself will not generate interest from potential employers; so, you have to distinguish yourself in your resume by using key words, listing specific accomplishments, and using concrete terms that will come up in a search.

THE BIG THREE CRITERIA: What can you do to make yourself stand out? Well, make sure you list these three items sure to engage the interest of any successful company. On your resume, make sure you explain how you …
Make Money, Save Money and Solve Problems on any job you’re assigned. Did you bring a project in two weeks ahead of schedule? Did you consistently cut down on worker injuries on your projects? Did you negotiate lower prices on supplies than your competitors managed? Make sure you feature those elements front-and-center on your resume. Every executive at every company wants energetic, smart employees who can make money, save money, and solve problems.

BE HONEST: Let your long record of hard work speak for itself, and don’t undermine your chances for consideration for a new challenge by falsifying information on your resume. Dates and degrees are easy to check, and companies diligently follow up on candidate’s claims.

Following these steps will give you a fighting chance to attract the attention and admiration of some of the strong and growing companies that use ConstructionJobs.com to look for men and women who will make next year their most successful year ever. We hope it’s yours, as well.

Article: Do You Know the ABC's of Career Change?

Making a career change is one of the toughest job-search challenges. For clarification, “career change” means much more than “job change.” A career change means choosing a completely new profession or industry. A “job change” is simply changing employers within the same industry and profession.
» Read Full Article

ConstructionJobs has helped thousands of job seekers all across America find employment. Our award-winning job board and resume database is endorsed by various top national associations (see Partners) as their preferred partner of online recruiting representing over 50,000 contractors and design firms. For more information or assistance with your account, please email us at: info@constructionjobs.com.

Happy Searching,
The ConstructionJobs Team