PRINCIPLES OF A SUCCESSFUL JOB SEARCH

Original post found here, written by John: https://fullfocusrecruitment.co.uk/2019/10/14/principles-of-a-successful-job-search/

For many, having a job is a fundamental part of life. It not only determines the material quality of how we live, what we can afford, but also psychological aspects: our hopes, aspirations, sense of fulfilment, self-respect. The list goes on.

Every day, people change jobs for a whole host of reasons, either by choice or by design, or due to circumstances beyond their control. Whatever the reason, your next job is a profoundly important step that can influence your life, positively or otherwise.

A Job search can be hard work. It’s not just a question of finding a job – any job. It is important to find the right job, a job that is an excellent fit for you now and for the future, either as a stepping stone for your career or as an opportunity you’ll be comfortable with for the long haul.

If it's the wrong job, you’ll end up having to start the job search all over again, if the position doesn’t work out. Besides it being stressful, you’ll need to avoid being considered a “job hopper”, when writing your resume.

The key to a successful job search is aiming at a job that meets a high percentage of your requirements. This isn’t easy, because there are a lot of conflicting forces, influencing your choice.

Choose a job that not only satisfies your financial requirements, but also your personal requirements, ie work satisfaction, and knowledge enhancement. You should be clear on what kind of work you will suit you, before choosing any Company, and determine what you want to do, rather than what other people want you to do.

During your job search, you must decide among career alternatives, ie. a career change involving doing something very different from what you’ve been doing, versus doing something similar to what you’ve been doing.

Visualise your job search as a two-step process: deciding among career alternatives, then finding the right job.

Job Search Strategy

A Job search is not just some random acts of looking for jobs that will provide you with an income. It is a job in itself and has to be approached methodically, in a carefully thought out and planned way.

Looking for a job can be a bit like dating. It can be easy to go online and find a match for a first date, but what happens after that, is what matters most. Will that first date turns into a long term relationship. Or will it go bust?

Of course, not all jobs will work out perfectly, even if you do all the right things.

However, you will have a better chance of making a match if you’re careful about every step of the job search process, and take the time to do your due diligence before saying “yes” to the hiring Employer.

Career phases

In setting your job objective, realise that there is a pattern to all careers. It’s important to identify where you are and what’s probably ahead of you.

The early years of working life, between 20 & 35, you are on an upward gradient. You are learning the tools of your trade, picking up qualifications and experience, and establishing yourself in your chosen profession.

The next phase is to position yourself for career lift-off.

For example, if you are 38, a desirable job might be as an understudy to an individual who currently holds the job that is your ultimate goal. This person might be within five years of retirement, or perhaps be a strong candidate for promotion.

By the age of 45, you are peaking. You are at the point where, if you are destined to reach the top, you are well on the way. This is your time to get the reward for all the endeavour, dedication and sacrifices made to prepare you for this moment. Carpe diem!!!

A mistake many people make at say 45, is to look for the kind of job that perhaps ten years earlier was their ultimate goal. They don’t realise their needs are different now.

You may have some of the motivational changes, which are typical in mid-career:

• You may be drawn to do less of what you are required to do, and more of what you want to do.
• You may not want to do the same thing that you’ve been doing for the last 10 years or so.
• You may want to be less involved in details and more with policymaking and planning.
• You are undoubtedly becoming aware of the need to prepare financially for retirement.
• You may want time to develop an activity, which you can pursue full time when you retire.

People in mid-career sometimes fall into the trap of trying to emulate Peers who have been successful. Don’t be swayed by how contemporaries are doing. No matter how successful you are, you will always find people to envy. You are now roughly halfway through your 40yr career horse race.

The key to your overall career satisfaction is whether you are making reasonable progress toward your long-term life goals and are in a good position to further this progress.

In your late 40s and into 50s, your career may have reached a plateau. In making a job change, you will be in the minority if you are able to substantially upgrade yourself, in terms of salary, responsibilities and title. You will increase your chances of doing so, mainly by joining a high-risk company. But this period of your life presents perhaps one of the few opportunities you will have to make an in-depth reassessment of your goals. While it’s unlikely that you sought this opportunity, it may come at an opportune time, because your life, in general, maybe undergoing fundamental change.

Maybe in recent years, you have recognised that the chances of getting ‘“to the top”, have become slighter. On the other hand, if your career goal has largely been met, you may feel at a loss, because you don’t have a further goal ahead of you. Or you may feel a sense of frustration because achieving the goal has not given you all the personal satisfaction that you expected.

In any event, you are likely at a time when the financial demands of your family are at their peak, because of educational expenses etc. Your children are preparing to leave the family home, increasing the financial demands on you as they set up new homes for themselves. It is often a time of great emotional stress. This is the time to be careful and patient about making a job decision.

If you’re changing jobs at 50, you might seriously consider a second career or working in a smaller company, where your duties would be broader and less structured.

There are many unhappy job holders, who didn’t persevere long enough or use good judgement on their last job search.

The result is they bounce from that job to the next job, and experience this bouncing for a number of years. This is because they didn’t take the time to ascertain what they did wrong in the first place, and setting out the key requirements that need to be met and matching them to prospective job placements.

Identifying Key Requirements

Conduct a Self Evaluation

In case you may be wondering why this is necessary, a self-evaluation will help you assess your personal preferences when it comes to your personal career. Ask yourself “what do you really love to do? What are your goals and ambitions? What are your long term plans, for your career? (1 and 3-year plans), and what do you want to achieve in your career?

Think about the skills that are required to do your job effectively. You might find it helpful to think about the difference in skills between someone who would do your job well and someone who would do it poorly. Add to this list any other key skills you have deployed elsewhere. What do you do especially well and which skills do you enjoy using?

Now think of two or three examples where you demonstrated each skill in action. If you look closely, you will usually find that within each example there are a host of other related skills you employed. For instance, you might have written down “negotiation skills when dealing with a supplier”, but when you break it down you may also reveal relationship-building skills, conflict management and flexibility.

This will help determine what kind of career opportunities you will be most comfortable with, and most thrive in. You must establish priorities and evaluate alternatives until you make a choice that meets a high percentage of your priorities.

Undoubtedly, you will refine your priorities as you search.

Make sure you write this down and keep a log, so you can reference your evaluation in the future.

Research

Doing your research during a job search is critical for success in an interview. As some career coaches point out, the whole process is not about you; it’s about the Company you’re applying to. Researching companies gives you a clear perspective on how to position yourself when you have a chance to meet them. To get started and learn some key insights, read through the annual report of the company and get a sense of how they position themselves to the world. This one detail will help you understand their company culture and much more.

Prepare Application Documents

By application documents, I mean your cover letter and professionally updated resume. Your resume should serve as a marketing tool to give a Company a glimpse of what you can offer and what value you represent. It should contain all the pertinent information about your qualifications, skills, training, and work experiences that are relevant to the current job opening; along with significant accomplishments and major strengths.

Always Be Ready To Interview

If you’ve followed the advice above and made sure to customise your resume and included a cover letter, getting a phone call for an interview is never far behind. If you’ve already received an invitation for an interview, it’s time that you prepare for it.

 Always remember that an interview is a business meeting. It is your goal to impress the potential employer and position yourself as a great fit for the job. You can do this by acting professionally, staying calm, rehearsing your elevator pitch and being confident.

Part of a successful job interview is your ability to market your experiences and skills as they relate to the job described, and a great way to do just that is by telling stories to illustrate your experiences and successes with those skills.

Stories make you engaging, allow you to show off your personality and demonstrate good communication skills too.

The job description, combined with your research, should tell you which particular skills the employer values most for the job. With that in mind, refresh your memory of stories that best show off your qualifications.

A key point that sits behind this gambit, is to keep your anecdotes as short and tightly worded as possible. If your answers are too long and soak up interview time, the Hirer may not be able to ask the range of questions needed to make a final decision on selection.

Interviewing works both ways

It is just as valuable for you to interview a Company as it is for them to interview you. Be prepared to answer interview questions, but also. have a list of your own, ready to ask.

It also gives you the chance to impress by displaying your knowledge about the organisation and asking intelligent questions. Always have some pre-prepared questions about what is important to you:

Questions like: What is it like to work here? How can I impress you in the first 3 months? What are the biggest challenges I will face in my first 3 months? What, if anything, would you change in the organisation?

Be memorable as you leave the interview.

Final check

The final part of your job search journey is making sure that the job is a good fit, before making a final decision to accept.

The interview is over, the job may sound terrific, but check out if you really want to work for the Company. Do you truly want this job? Is the Company culture a fit for you at this stage of your career? Is it too formal or too casual? How is the Organisation structured? Are there opportunities for advancement.

Will you be happy doing it? Will it boost your career? Will it give you the flexibility for work/life balance you need? Is the salary what you expected?

If there’s anything about the job or the compensation package that is making you think twice, the time to act is before you accept the offer.

Final word

The job search process may appear a little daunting, but don’t be phased.

Be confident. Go for it. There’s nothing complicated about it. You will quickly come to realise that it all boils down to a blinding flash of the obvious!

Good luck.

Get your career on track and explore more about how we can help you achieve your career ambitions: https://fullfocusrecruitment.co.uk/applicants/