The saying goes, opportunity never knocks twice. The answer is if it does not, build another door. Jobs are scarce and good jobs are rare. To find rare things you need to look beyond the normal stuff. That is why the word hunting is used. That means searching, tracking, targeting and going for the kill. To find work is tough but smart people will find work while most people may struggle or get into jobs that they resent as they feel totally disconnected to the type of work they are doing. The strange thing is that there are complaints on both sides i.e. the employers and those needing to be employed. While applicants complain of lack of good jobs, employers complain of lack of good people. Herein lies the opportunity.
On average, each job can attract minimum 250 to 5000 applicants depending on the type of company and the job. Of these by the time the screening takes place and preliminary shortlisting is done 4 to 6 candidates will reach the final stage of recruitment. Thus, the ability to find your way through this applicant traffic jam has to be a combination of hard work and innovation. The traditional ways of looking into newspaper advertisements and job postings are not going to work, the idea is to present such a unique selling point of being different yet the best fit for the job in a way where the company feels compelled to make an offer.
Let us look at what are the do's and don'ts of finding a good job that may hinder or facilitate your search for what you really want to do.
(i) Don't do what others are doing: The normal tendency for job seekers is to use the most frequently tried channels. They go to job placement offices of their universities and drop their CVs. They also try job search sites for CV matching. While all this may be good this is not hunting. What needs to be done is to look at how to get your foot in the door of the right workplaces.
(ii) Do network job hunting: If you are new graduate find a list of your alumni working in good companies and the right departments. Nothing works more than a common university referral. Don't wait for the college to arrange a meeting. Find out the alumni connect. Either through LinkedIn or Facebook, message him/her politely for some "mentoring" advice. If they respond ask for 10 minutes of their "valuable" time. Meet them and find out job opportunities within their company and also seek references in other companies through them. Go and meet those references and then report back to the initial "mentor" and thank him and seek more advice. This inside hunting will get you much closer to your target than just plain CV spreading.
(iii) Don't rest on your degree: Once you have attained a degree the focus should not just be that this is enough. Knowledge gets obsolete in 6 months. Just flaunting a degree that is a year old while still unemployed will not make a good impression.
While you are not getting a job, enhance your skills. Do some training programmes related to the field that you are interested. There some cheap and effective online diplomas and certifications available. They will add to your knowledge and skills and add to your CV value
(iv) Do not become rigid on your package: As a beginner you may have these notions of what the going salary and remuneration are. Or, on the other extreme, you may jump on the first job available that gives you a reasonable return. Both these will not develop your long-term career.
Try to find what you really like to do and then short list similar jobs. These jobs may be saturated but you can find a foot in their door. Try to study the target company's main needs and issues. Make a really attractive report and develop a video on it. Try to attract the company and its HR department by applying on their site and attaching the study/video and then just asking for an internship. Chances are that if the video is useful to them they would not mind giving an internship that will not be binding or costly to them.
(v) Don't do the standard rehearsed interviews: Almost 99% people who have a reasonable CV fail in interviews. The concept of a preparation is, do a guess paper of frequently asked question/answer rote learning, and then speak it out without stuttering in front of the interviewer. Nothing can be less impressive than a mechanical response.
Divide interviews in 3 stages. Pre-interview preparation, interview itself and post interview phase. Before the interview do research on the company, its mission, its values, its market performance. Also find out about the interview panel and their style. Dress up formally but sedately. No shocking colours, no extra fashion. Clean spic and span and organized. The documents should look well planned and orderly the body language confident and comfortable and the manner courteous and forthcoming. The interview itself has to be very delicately handled. If you have done your homework you would know the style of interviewers. Let them ask and answer with assertiveness but don't exaggerate or give general answers. Be honest about your weaknesses and the answers you don't know but don't look crestfallen and defeated. Interviews are more about your attitude than about a memory test.
(vi) Do not take the organization for granted: The assumption that the CV will make or break your hiring prospects is a naïve understanding of today's HR assessment process. If you search and research on the company so do they on you.
Monitor posts on your facebook. HR departments look at your posts and comments on your facebook , twitter, Instagram etc to gauge the real person behind the CV. The type of videos you see and the type of posts you share creates an impression of your personality. Make sure your presence on the various forums reflects the type of person you are presenting to them on all your other communication connections. Any variation in them will create distrust and hesitancy in the hiring process.
Hunting for a job is like marketing a product and service in a market where buyers have hundreds of choices. Remember you are the best advertisement for yourself. You have to identify your target market i.e. the type of industry and company that you aspire to be part of; develop a whole marketing plan based on social media platforms, personal selling, doing PR and lobbying and creating an irresistible brand perception about what benefits you can offer better than your competitors to the organization to become a must have choice for the employers.
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])
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