Diversity Might Be Your Ticket To A New Job

If you want a job, finding one might take more than sending out as many resumes as you can, checking the help wanted ads, or applying to companies you admire. There are ways to network for a career you may have never thought of, and diversity might be your ticket to a new job.

In addition, you might look to your parenting skills for confidence when preparing for an interview or looking for a career. If you had never thought of your parenting skills being transferred to a job, WeAreTheCity, a blog for women about careers, lifestyles, networking, and other matters, explained how. According to the blog, people are under the misconception that “that time spent parenting is time that detracts from career development. I mean, how can wiping noses and hanging out in soft play centers actually help your career?”

Being a parent can help you develop the following skills that are useful in any job:

• Problem solving. (Only a parent could learn to make three children under five learn to share or to leave a friend’s party without a temper tantrum.)
• Negotiation skills. Anybody who can negotiate with a young toddler can negotiate about anything with anyone. (You won’t see an adult fall to the floor and throw a temper tantrum if he doesn’t get his way, but your child might.)
• Organizational skills. If you have several children of different ages and have to get them ready for different projects, you use this skill daily.
• Creativity. This is a skill any business can use. If your child has ever asked you to make an airplane from Lego bricks, you’ve developed this skill.

According to Forbes, there are a lot of unconventional ways to network and look for a job:

• Create your position, instead of looking for a job. Determine the companies you would like to work for, a problem they have, and your solution for the problem. Share your solution with the company, in person, or create a blog to do so. Your friends might help you with this.
• Don’t always follow your passion. You may have always heard to do so, and it may be good if you can. Some people develop a passion over time for a job they had never considered before taking it, however.
• When you are practicing for an interview, don’t only rehearse standard answers to questions such as what your strengths and weaknesses are and why you want a particular job, but also practice listening carefully to an interviewer.
• When applying for a job, try to go straight to the top, to talk directly to the decision maker, as did Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) in The Pursuit of Happyness.
• It can help to befriend the administrative assistant of the decision maker, even though he or she may not be that close to him. The administrative assistant does, however, know the interests, preferences, schedule, and interests of the one who might hire you.
• When you find a job and company that interests you, research the company first, as well as the professionals that work there, before applying. Let them know by e-mail or phone that you would like their advice and admire them. Ask for any advice they may have, as well as what they find challenging about their job. You could also ask who the best person in the company would be to send your resume to.
• If considering an entry level job, think about what your career would be five or ten years from now. An entry level job may not be that glamorous.

According to hireredjobs.com, joining a professional association can sometimes help you find a job. This can work if the association is in your field, but can be helpful sometimes even if it is not. This can be beneficial because you can find a mentor to help you out with your needs. In addition, you will have numerous chances to connect with peers, ask for advice, share ideas, become a member of a committee, volunteer to be a speaker, attend a local or national conference, learn new ideas about your career field, meet key achievers in your field, and hear breaking news.

Any of these ideas might help you land the job you want. Finally, you might want to consider working as a temporary employee for a company. Such a move can be beneficial in any career field, even a highly technical one, such as IT. Reliable IT staffing companies are increasingly on the look for people with information technology expertise.

The company says it uses highly skilled IT professionals across all disciplines, including in emerging technologies and that it follows industry vertical trends. The company works with 1,500 companies needing IT professionals for short-term assignments, long-term assignments, and skilled professionals for direct hire.