Top Tips To Create A Persuasive Sales Letter

 

 changing careers

Every once in a while, you may find yourself wanting to change careers. Perhaps you’ve been asked to relocate, or maybe you just want a new challenge. Whatever the reason, it’s not as hard as you might think.

Most people assume that this process is akin to starting from scratch—but it doesn’t have to be that way. You still have your experience, training, and education, which can be translated into a new career.

If you’re considering a career change, here are 5 tips that will help you determine whether you’re ready to make the leap and get the job that puts your skills to good use:

1. Make a list of your interests and accomplishments.

It doesn’t matter if this is the first time you’ve made out a list like this or if it was just last month.

All that matters is that you have a thorough knowledge of the things you’re interested in and the skills you possess.

The best way to do this is to take some time and write down all of your accomplishments, interests, skills and desires. This may include both work-related achievements as well as non-work related activities.

It’s also important to note how many hours per week you spend engaged in the activities or hobbies associated with those interests. This will help keep track of any downtime you might want to dedicate to these pursuits once you get a job.

2. Determine if it’s something that would be beneficial for your career.

The next step is to frame it in a way that makes it relevant your target career.

For example, I enjoy writing. I’ve written papers and presented them at conferences. If I wanted to be a copywriter, I could use this skill along with my skills in communication and technology to write product descriptions for businesses. This is a skill that many businesses are looking for and will give me an advantage when applying for jobs.

3. Use your resume to support your new direction.

It’s time to take everything you have and put it into your resume (this does not include your list from #1).

You’ll have to take all of your skills and apply them towards the job you are targeting.

For example, in my list of hobbies above, I listed writing. I could add “blogging” to my resume under pastime activities, or I could include it under skill sets by making a copy and writing that I have experience “creating engaging content for online magazines”.

4. Write your resume from the target job perspective.

This step is one that many miss because they don’t realize how beneficial it is to take the time to do this most important step.

The resume you’re creating should be written as if you were applying for a specific job.

It’s easy to write your resume using the language that YOU use, but not what your potential employer would use. By switching up the description of your skills, qualifications and accomplishments, you will have a better chance of getting contacted by someone who is interested in hiring you for that position!

5. Sell yourself!

You may have heard this term before, but do you know what it means? Selling yourself is exactly that: convincing the other person (in this case, the employer) to see things from your perspective.

When you are writing your resume, it will be important to show how a potential employer can benefit from hiring you. It’s best to do this in the beginning of your resume because it will help to create a conversation between you and the hiring manager.

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Changing careers was last modified: by

Author: Jami Heinrich _____________________ After earning her associates degree in Mass Communications from McLennan Community College in Waco, TX she gained real-world experience as a reporter and editor at several newspapers across Texas. She attended Texas A&M University where she earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism with a minor in Information Technology. She is currently working as a marketing associate at the Economic Development Corporation of Brazos County. Twitter Facebook Google+ LinkedIn Email

The Accidental Blogger shares her tips to prospective bloggers:

1. How do you decide whether or not to start blogging? When I first considered blogging, I worried about being rejected by the media industry before being accepted into it. Though, blogger rejections are certainly not uncommon, my worry seemed unfounded. After all, blogging has been around for ages and wasn’t as popular back when most people were in my age group who would be blogging (late-20s). So if the blogging industry was always this easy, why wouldn’t anyone start one?

But the biggest reason was my fear of being rejected by people online. I’ve always been nervous about being judged by strangers. My main concern centered on my writing ability, but all of that disappeared when I got a taste of what it was like to have an audience. After putting out a couple posts and receiving comments, I finally felt comfortable with the idea of blogging. That sense of comfort was something I was ready to receive!

2. Will you blog away your life? My next concern was blogging to get rich and lucrative, which was why I was so hesitant. I didn’t want to be the person who wasted time and energy on a hobby that wasn’t going to earn me money. When you reach my age, it pays to be careful with money –You don’t have it as much as you did when you were a kid.

3. What are the best blogs out there? These days, there are a lot of blogs out there and most of them are pretty bad. But if you’re looking for some good ones, I like the Huffington Post or ThinkProgress.org and their stable of contributors. I also like DesiFreak! (it’s a personal blog, but I get a lot of freebies and coupons that way).

4. How do you find the time to start writing when you work full-time? My last concern was the time it would take for me to write about anything intriguing enough for this blog. But I knew that if I let my life dictate what I’m going to be writing about, then those things will never happen.

I let blogging be a hobby instead of something that consumes my time and energy.

Conclusion

My internship with an entertainment industry PR firm exposed me to the industry and allowed me to learn the media side of things. It took a lot of time and energy to get involved, but I wouldn’t change it for anything! Today I write about everything from “how to” articles on blogging, upcoming events, and my personal experiences as a writer.

I also still work full-time as a marketing associate at the Economic Development Corporation of Brazos County. And after my first week here, I realized that my day used to start at 5:45 AM working in the office with the rest of the early risers.