Posted by Seth Burgess on Fri, Feb 26, 2010 @ 01:12 PM
At www.equimax.com I see new ways all the time that people seeking equine employment sabotage their own efforts and essentially "shoot themselves in the foot." Here are six quick things that you can easily avoid and improve your chances of finding an equestrian job.
1. Don't use one name on your resume and then another on your email. You may have a maiden name, or middle name that you use some times and not others. Or you may have a hyphenated last name that you use sometimes and not others. This a great way to confuse potential employers. Employers may be considering several candidates. If your name is Mary Smith or Mary S. Jones, or Mary Jones-Smith, pick one name, stick to it and use it everywhere in your job search. If you send a resume using Mary Smith and then sign your email Mary S. Jones, employers may easily lose track of who you are.
2. Use a plain generic email address and stay away from cute and clever addresses. The employment process is filled with emotion. Employers may be leery of you if they don't like your email address. If you use something like "horsenut@gmail.com" or "gypsyhorselover@yahoo.com", or "horsebreaker@hotmail.com" you may quickly turn some potential employers against you. Use a straight forward email address for your equine employment search. Many names with a middle initial are still available. Where davidjones@hotmail.com might not be available, davidrjones@hotmail.com might be available. Avoid using underscores in your email address. They are often missed when transcribing an email address.
3. Be sure your equestrian job resume includes a chronologically consistent history of employment. A history of employment is not a list of references. It should simply show when you worked for an employer, what your title was, the name of the employer, and the city and state where the employer is located. Further contact information is not recommended. (Prepare a separate list of references for that.) Potential equine employers will want to see that you have worked in the horse industry and they won't want to see gaps in your chronology. Gaps make it seem like you are hiding something, and one of the first things many equine employers will ask is "What were you doing during those missing times?" If you need help with your resume, click here.
4. Respond to all messages promptly. Don't assume anything. You never know what a contact will lead to. Even the seemingly most objectionable or irrelevant contact can develop into a hot lead for equestrian employment. Be professional, courteous and prompt.
5. Proofread your communications. Employers for equestrian jobs will judge you by how well you communicate. If your messages are full of grammar and spelling mistakes, or take liberty with the English language, employers are likely to figure your sloppiness with communication a poor work ethic. If you are not confident about your writing ability, ask someone else to proofread your communications.
6. Don't "oversell your abilities." People don't get ahead in an equine employment career by pretending they can do something and hoping for the best. The fastest, most effective way to build a career from equestrian jobs is to find a job with a good employer and a job you can "do in your sleep." Spend the first six months to a year at your new job demonstrating that you can do your job correctly, efficiently, and productively. Then be looking for your employer to give you more duties and responsibilities (promote you.) Taking a job you can just barely do and hoping you will get by is the quickest way to kill of a career.
If you would like more tips and advice on how to build a career in equine employment take a look at "The Career Game" The Career Game is a free on-line tool for building a career in equine employment.
Posted by Seth Burgess on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 @ 03:14 PM
Here are some words and phrases that should never be used when advertising a job or writing a resume. Can you figure out why?
Self-Motivated
Hard Working
Dedicated
Organized
Reliable
Dependable
Good with People
Expert
Detail-Oriented
Responsible
These words and others like them describe "subjective qualities." They represent qualities that are definitely desireable in an employment relationship. However, advertising for these qualities or including them in your resume can backfire. Subjective qualities are just that, subjective. If you are an employer, you should not care if an applicant thinks they have some of these qualities. You should care whether YOU think they have these qualities. As an applicant, you need to let employers draw their own conclusions about your subjective qualities from the relationships you build with them.
When it comes to subjective qualities, your opinion is the ONLY opinion that counts. You will form that opinion as you get to know each candidate. Don't try to screen for subjective qualities with your advertisement. It won't work!
The best job seekers know that when an ad contains words like these, the employer probably has trouble hiring and keeping good help. All horse industry employers have trouble finding good help from time to time, but you don't want to advertise your failures, do you? Write your ad to attract the best people. Give them a reason to work for you instead of for someone else. Draw your own conclusions about each person's subjective qualities after they respond to your ad.