Determined to change jobs~need help

[kimandkathess]

Ok, as some of you may know, i posted about a week ago, needing advice about my house and job. Well i have decided that right now im going to just find a new job. As much as I want a new home, i can't afford that right now. So my new question is...what should i do to get that new job?
I went to school as got my associates in Office Technology, its almost like Business Administration but not as quite in depth. It learned to use Most microsoft applications like word (already knew how to use that), publisher (love publisher), Excel(but a little rusty on that one), outlook (not too familier anymore), powerpoint, acess(again rusty on that one), I know how to conduct letters, I am VERY GOOD at organizing. I am good at taking notes, and answering calls. I love to make flyers and brochers. I am good at reserching and finding information. Plus I have run my own business for about three years now. I feel like I have some good stuff to offer someone, im just afraid that with now field experience and being a little rusty on excell and acces might now do me too good. Does anyone have any advice?

~~Katrina~~

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Can I hire you as my personal secretary? Can you clip my coupons too? LOL

Just kidding!

Can you perhaps take some refresher courses (maybe even online courses) to brush up on those applications that you are rusty on and in the meantime get your resume together and put it out there. You never know what you might land if you don't put your line in the water. Best advice I can give is not to quit your current job till you have been 100% hired by the new job (but I am sure you know that already)

[beth119]

Office manager?

[kimandkathess]

I would love to do office manager or somethin to that nature, im just affraid with no experience out in the field, other than running my own bussines, and not remembering the excell and acces, that it might be difficult, but like queen said, i could do a refresher course. Thank goodness im running my own business and can determine when I want to quit doing it, so i do have time to put together a reusme and refresh my memory.

[jenrose]

Originally Posted by kimandkathess I would love to do office manager or somethin to that nature, im just affraid with no experience out in the field, other than running my own bussines, and not remembering the excell and acces, that it might be difficult, but like queen said, i could do a refresher course. Thank goodness im running my own business and can determine when I want to quit doing it, so i do have time to put together a reusme and refresh my memory.

Access isn't a huge deal in many offices. I don't think I have ever used that program and don't think it is even installed on our office comps. Excel I find very useful all the time at work. Many companies have their own favorite programs to use which in many cases you would not have used prior (the accounting software I use at work I never heard of before starting here).

The wording you use on your resume is one that will make a huge difference in getting called for an interview. Make sure to list out responsibilities and such for your job history and your own business.

[tmsmalley]

Monster.com has message boards under "advice". You can post your resume (minus name, address and phone) and get some good (free) advice. Put a note about what jobs you're applying for so people can better review your resume. Use your experience running your own business on the resume by pulling up postings for the kinds of jobs you want and then matching your resume to fit. Don't worry about whether you're going after those particular jobs, you're just using them to craft your resume.

Once you have your resume together, let everyone you know, know that you're looking and what you're looking for. You've got generic sorts of skills so you can look at office manager sort of jobs in any kind of field or industry. Look at big companies, small companies, government, non-profits, cover all the bases. Customize your basic resume to the specifics of each job posting. Use the same words and write a great cover letter (Monster can help with that too). Then it is just a matter of fishing in a big enough stream to get enough bites that one hires you.

Hope this helps!
Tess

[2mnyteens]

What about something like paralegal or a title office?

[gooseandmama]

HI Kat,
The Federal job opportunity website always has entry level clerical jobs, many that are temp at first & all that allow time for training to get up to speed on your skills. Each vacancy announcement will tell you the ditues required of the position, the salary that they are offering & the qualifications you will need to have in order to be considered for the position. When you find a vacancy annc you want to look at, hit the print preview button, that way you can see (or print) the whole document rather than having to navigate through a bunch of tabs. Be aware though if you print, it will be several pages, so if you are careful about your ink usage, read on the screen first.
You can work your way into anything based on your initiative & willingness to accept responsibility...personal experience for me was a temp for 60 days at one agency as a Clerk-typist, then a entry level GS-3 Medical Clerk at the VA here & moved into HR as a GS-5, in a position that had promotion potential & in 10 years made it from positions with the title "HR Assistant" to HR Specialist which had a higher grade level maximum & have been there ever since. 23 years & at 45 now, I can retire with the age & service requirements in 11 more. Of course, depending on the economy & the fact that I currently have a 5 yr old, I may have to work until she's through with school. I have great benefits & a salary that covers us in times when the self-employed carpenter DH is not as busy...with 2 kids in private school. Don't think if your starting later that I did, that you won't that far...a lady, who's son & I went to grade school together, started working at VA in her 50s & retired this month with full benefits after about 15 yrs. Just a thought you might want to consider...the government is not going anywhere!!

Good Luck...

[Kristen.C]

Do you happen to live near where you went to school? Most colleges will offer you one-on-one resume help, as well as job locating assistance. Getting that resume written in a way that employers want to see it is a huge advantage when you're looking for a job.