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Women in Business
 Dao-Huy Minh-Thu 
Vietnamese(VPS) Vietnamese(VSCII)
 
 
Today’s topic is Women in Business. Women have made great progress in the workforce in the last half of the century.  Thirty years ago, only 2 out of 10 women were in the workforce. Today, 7 out of 10 women are actively working. Women in today’s workforce are between 25 and 44 years-old and they are now better educated than their mothers and grandmothers who were in their age. In 1950, 10% of university students were women, today we are in the majority of over 50%.  Furthermore, a recent study done by the Ministry of Education of Quebec shows that, relative to their male counterparts, female graduates have a better chance of finding a job. Ten years ago, only 85% of female undergraduates were able to find a job. Today, that rate has improved to 90%, demonstrating a positive trend towards the successful integration of women in the job market. So, these statistics give us an idea of the substantial progress made by women so far.
 I’d like now to turn to a specific topic, that is, the job search process. I believe that this is an appropriate topic to discuss today in view of the current economic condition that we are experiencing, and the most important of all is the continuous shrinking of job in the market that we all have to face.  Everyday you see on newspapers and learn a number of corporations downsized or restructured, resulting in massive layoffs.  And I’m sure that all of you here are aware of a substantial downsizing in all levels of government which again results in thousands of people unemployed.
 So, what I’d like to do in the next 20 minutes is to offer  some tips to anyone who plans to or is currently embarking on the job hunting process.
 These are 7 steps that are required in the job hunting process. There is nothing magical to it, it’s just 7 essential guidelines that need to be identified :
  1. state your career objective
  2. write your resume
  3. do your homework
  4. network and talk to as many people as you can
  5. prepare for the job interview
  6. follow up the job interview
  7. negotiate the salary and benefits package if you’re hired.
1. The first thing you have to do is to know yourself. You have to be able to define your strengths and your weaknesses. If you don’t,  you won’t be able to define what your career objective is. For example, people who have good logic skills would probably do well in the areas as science, banking, and business. People who have strong communication skills  would do well in sales, marketing or community services.

2. The second part is writing an effective resume. There are 5 parts to consider: the length, the appearance, the language, the content, and the format.

2.1 The length.
There is no definite length. 1, 2 or 3 pages depending on what you have experienced in your career. But whatever the length is, be sure that all the critical information is on the first page.

2.2 The appearance.
The resume should be visually appealing so that people would want to read it. Use paragraphs which are concise and well-spaced.  Finally, use good paper that shows your quality and  professionalism.

2.3 The language.
It must be specific, clear, positive and exciting. Use action words that expose your career objective throughout, and use words that will describe your accomplishments and experience that are relevant to your job objective. You have to use words efficiently, by that I mean you have to use a minimum of words to convey exactly what you say. And finally, make sure that it’s accurate, no spelling or grammatical errors! Also, use facts that describe your competence, for example, how many people you supervised in your previous job, what kind of achievements you have made, such as an increase in sales or an increase in market share.

2.4 Contents . It should include the followings

  • Heading: your name, address, phone, and fax.
  • Career objective: in one sentence, you have to be able to tell what is key in terms of job and career. Basically, you have to say, in one sentence, this is what I am, and this is what I want to do.
  • Summary: this is the most visible opportunity you have to justify your job objective. Basically this part says, here is why I’ll be good and what I want to do next. It is the statement that encapsulates your resume in two or three sentences.
  • Experience: state your skills and experience which distinguish you as a unique product. Job titles need to be carefully drafted and easily understood so that you can show that you have the experience and  the skill to fulfill the position.
  • Education: summarize in some lines of your university degree, high school diploma, professional memberships, awards, and  publications.
    • 2.5 Format. There are 2 types of resumes.
  • A chronological resume shows your most recent work, and continues backward in time. This is the most revealing type of resume.
  • A functional resume organizes your work by function rather than by time.
    • 3. Do your homework.
    Once you have drafted your resume, the job is not over yet. You have to do your homework. You have to know about the industry that you are after and you have to know about your line of network. At the end of the day, you should be able to make up a list of companies that you want to go after, to identify the target of those companies. In addition, to do your homework, you have to do networking, to talk to people in that industry in order to understand the company you are after. You should be able to create a proposal that would link your skills and experience to  the company’s needs. So, you should be able to say to the target of the company, "I can identify the reasons why you can hire me", rather than "please hire me."

    4. Network and talk to as many people as you can.
    Job search can be done by looking through advertisements in the newspapers, or by contacting directly with the company, or even by going to an employment agency.  Of course, a job search can also be done through  friends or employers. Research has shown that 75% of the job opportunities can be found through friends or employers. Advertisement and direct employment agency represent only 25%. These facts can help you allocate time for different networking. You should spend more than 30% of your time talking to friends and people within the industry. Just spend 5% of your time writing to the newspaper, because sometimes it is just a way to attract resumes but may not be the way to find the job. 10-15% of your time could then be allotted to write letters to employment agencies.

    5. Prepare for the job interview.
    Send the letter and the resume, and soon, congratulations are in order because you’ve got the job interview! Here are some guidelines that can help you maximize your performance during the interview.

    6. Right after the interview you have to make some follow-ups.
    Typically and first of all, you have to take notes of the interview. The work consists of:  the position offer, who is needed in that position, what is the goal of the company, their need and their outlook. The material presented, did you present the whole thing or did you withhold some information? What clues did you pick up in the interview? All of that has to be noted. Then you have to write a follow-up letter and forward it right after the interview. The follow-up letter has to be brief, relevant, and should express an appreciation of the time and opportunity that the interviewer had allowed you. Basically, it summarizes the position, expresses the interest, and reiterates how your skills and experience can match the position being offered.

    7. Negotiate the salary and benefits package.
    Make it known to the company what you can provide, and what the salary and benefits are. Do not accept the offer right away, rather, say that you will respond later.


    To Hoi Thao TNVietnamese Canadian Refugee & Immigrant women in the 90