Career Advice

Do you have a skeleton (or two) rattling in your closet? Employers may want to find out, especially for jobs that handle money, protect the vulnerable, or are part of the government. They could do a police record check for criminal activity. You’d have to give consent (usually as part of a broader background review). But do you know what might get revealed? Maybe a lot more than just if you’re on file as a convicted lawbreaker.

Your cover letter is like a handshake—it’s how you introduce yourself to employers when you apply for a job. Like a good handshake, you want your cover letter to be sharp, concise, and make a great first impression. Your cover letter isn’t a part of the job application process you want to skimp on, either. A cover letter allows you to go into more detail than your resume allows. It explains gaps in your employment history or your need for a career change. It can make a case as to why you would be an excellent fit for the position. And a great cover letter can open the door to scoring an interview and, ultimately, landing a job.

So you want to move to a different field entirely. Your father says, "You'll never be able to do it." Your mother rails, "After we spent all that money on your degree?" Fortunately, your friends or significant other says, "Sure, why not?" If you do decide to go for it, don't forget to give your resume a makeover. Here are three things to keep in mind:

Do-gooders with a business bent (and conscience) often shun the private sector. They fret about too much focus on profits, not enough on people and planet. Even jobs in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be more smoke and mirror than fixing the world’s problems. Meanwhile, non-profits may not pay well enough.

Navigating your first job search when you’re fresh out of college is no easy feat. You have to craft your resume, apply to jobs, research potential employers, and, of course, ace job interviews—but you probably know you have all that on your plate. Something you may not have realized? Interview follow-up matters—almost as much as the interview itself.

What do cars, Netflix movies and job offer acceptance have in common? You can reverse each of them. Even signing a valid employment contract could potentially be walked back.

School’s done! Hit the pavement and bury them books. Life is lit! No more humiliating summer gigs or unpaid internships. The feverish search for a real job’s on.

Why did those fools let me go? The question haunts you after losing a job for unexplained reasons, which is the case in most dismissals. Finding out what’s behind the axing is like pulling a sword from the stone. Neither tears nor tantrums are likely to budge it from the employer.

Every new job’s got a learning curve. If that curve proves steeper than a plunge from Mt. Everest, problems mount quickly. Small tasks don’t get done. Minor mistakes snowball into an avalanche of errors. Deadlines whoosh by unmet. Word spreads you can’t hack it. That you’re way over your head.