Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #10: The cover letter

Codrin PO

There are thousands of templates on the web, all for the “perfect cover letter”. You can find templates for different jobs, different fields. But, in principle, they all look the same. Your name and address on the left, the employer`s name and address on the right, the date on which you are sending it just below and that “Dear Mr/Mrs.” right there.

The paragraphs all look the same. The first one is short telling where you saw the job. The second is that you are perfect for the job because you studied this and you worked on that. The third, well, is weird. You keep going on and on about your experience, trying to explain everything. And, then, you`re using it for all your applications.

And this is completely WRONG.

Here is what you should do. READ MORE TO SEE THE “CATCH” AT THE END.

Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #9: Greg`s offers

Codrin PO1 Comment

Another crossroad in the life of a graduate or that of an unemployed person is receiving the offer. You smile, scream and say that you`re saved.

But what happens when you receive two (or more) offers? In Greg`s case, the problem was that he had to choose between a well-paid, but meaningless, hateful job and a job that he would love, but with far less money. After months of receiving unemployment aid and barely able to surface, he had a very tough choice ahead.

Greg thought about it, weighing advantages and disadvantages, creating SWOTs and everything that a person who has a choice in front of it will do. READ MORE!

Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #7: what education can and cannot do for you

Codrin PO2 Comments

I have a good friend. Let`s call her Anna.

Anna got a few years ago her Bachelor degree in Public Administration. An interesting field of study, with even more interesting things to do after…if you don’t want to get a job in public administration. But let`s get back to the subject.

She had a few small jobs, nothing really related to what she studied. After a while of doing this, she decided that it`s time to emigrate and find something better, that “American dream” (but in Europe). Anna has been in that country for almost two years now.

She started studying the language and got pretty good at it, reaching an advanced level on the country`s own scale of evaluation. That`s what she did in her first year there. In her second year, Anna started studying at one of the country’s best universities. Right now, she`s taking her first exams there. HERE IS THE CATCH! READ MORE.

Career counseling · Old blog

Career counseling #4: Lisa

Codrin PO

It`s 2015 and we`ve got a fresh start ahead.

For a first-in-the-year post, let`s take Lisa, Greg`s long lost love. I`m sure you all remember Greg.

Lisa majored in political science, with an emphasis on international relations. She hoped to get a job within the Parliament, a Ministry or something similar. She`s been unemployed since June 2013, when she graduated. In the past year and a half, she had some meaningless jobs, learned another language and thought about the future. She recently started a Masters` in political sciences abroad, with an emphasis on European affairs.

Lisa`s attitude, from my point of view, is one of denial. She thinks that, after her Master, she`ll get a job within a European institution and start of a fabulous career in politics. And here`s the punchline!

Not too personal · Old blog

How can I help you today?

Codrin PO18 Comments

Despite what everyone is saying, that I shouldn`t give free advice/help anymore and that I should try to sell myself better, I decided to offer my help to anyone in need for FREE.

My inspiration comes from reading (partially until now) the book of Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn co-founder) called “The Start-up of You“. By reading this, I came to the conclusion that what has defined me over the years wasn`t my knowledge of a field or another, wasn`t my degrees or different skills, but, in fact, it was my interaction with people. I have always loved to help everyone, never saying “no” to a friend needing help or asking a question. Continue reading “How can I help you today?” →