If you browse through all the other sites you would get the same advice and they will all tell you to stand out, be bold and answer questions in the interview like a pro. But we will not deal with this in the same fashion. We will think out of the box, better to say, we will completely get rid of the box and guide you toward the best steps you can take to job hunt.
If you’re in for a job hunt or just have finished your graduation or maybe an experienced professional the following job hunting tips will help you go to the next level. No matter what is your background, all you want is a new job.
Hang on for few minutes and we will hand you the things that you absolutely need to do to get a new job.
Without much ado, let’s get started.
Job Hunt;
-
Ready-Fire-Aim approach
Here I will talk about two individuals who are fresh graduates and have passed out from the college this year. They both are on a job hunt. But their approach is different. Let’s call them A and B.
A is very keen to get a job, but the thing he does is he takes a lot of time to take care of his job search resume and sets himself a target and approaches it steadily.
Whereas B is not that kind! She is also keen to get a job. But she doesn’t wait to make her resume great. She just picks up the phone and calls in the offices she would like to work.
Who will get the job faster?
A’s approach is great. He takes time, thinks ahead and plans accordingly. But in today’s world that ready-aim-fair approach is obsolete. People get a job when they take action immediately. The advantage of ready-fire-aim approach is that when you fire and miss the target, you can change your destination and fire again. But by taking this approach, you’re avoiding any downtime you need to prepare.
Thus, B’s approach is excellent. Without putting your finger in the water, how do you know whether it’s hot or cold?
So, B calls up, talks to the people who can provide her a job and understand whether she is good enough for the job or not immediately. If not, she tweaks her resume, learns few basic things and then re-applies.
It saves time and she doesn’t need to assume anything beforehand.
If you’re a fresher and wants to go for a job hunt, take this approach. Job hunt in any job site, pick up the phone and call immediately. Don’t worry about the resume as of now. First get to know what they need and whether they find your qualification and experience suitable or not. If yes, then prepare a resume and go for the interview. If not, go to the next company and do the same.
-
Make a SWOT Analysis of yourself
Most people advice on doing an analysis on the company you’re going for the interview. Yes, you need to do that. But that will come afterward. Now, after fetching the interview, you need to know yourself a little bit more than you think you know.
Take a blank piece of paper and then fold the paper into four parts. On the first fold, write STRENGTHS on the heading, on the next, write WEAKNESSES, on the next, write OPPORTUNITIES and the last one write THREATS.
Then quickly set a time for an hour, close the door, close out any sort of distractions and then get to work. Think about your strengths. What you do exceptionally well? Write around 3-4 and cite some examples from your personal experience. Do the same with other 3. And then you’re ready.
The major purpose behind doing this analysis is the better you know yourself, better you would be able to sell yourself. So, don’t skip this. It’s of prime importance.
-
Know your industry
Before you know the details of any company, you need to study and know your industry. The key variables of your industry where you want to work in are different than any other industry.
You need to know those key variables and then understand what they are and how you fit in. If you don’t see any resemblance between your characteristics and the variables, you may not be a great fit. If you still want to stick to the same industry, you may need to build some skills.
While analysing the industry, you also need to know how the industry is trending and where it would be in next 10 years.
Do you see any alignment between your goals and the industry’s growth? If yes, go ahead. If not, go for another industry.
(Please remember, these things you should do after you pick up the phone and call up the company, not before)
-
Where do you want to go in your career?
No-one asks this question, specifically when they go for a job hunt. If they’re not getting any job, they just sign up for any job and do that job for 5-10 years. But that doesn’t make sense. You should know where you would like to reach if you want to use your full potential.
Here’s the deal.
In your heart, you always know what you want to be. If you don’t know, at least know what things attract you and how you respond to them. Find out a bunch of things (it’s usually bunch of things only) and then try out the one which appeals to you more.
Accepting a job because it pays you is not the good deal.
Quite often in interview the interviewers ask the question – “Where do you want to see in the next 5 years?”
Few interviewees give diplomatic answer which gets aligned with the job they’ve applied for and most remains almost blank.
If you find out before, even vaguely, you will have a clue at least to answer this question and set a sail toward a career that you want to continue for a long time.
-
Prepare for the interview
This is the most common advice. But no-one talks about details and what to prepare to perform at your best in the interview. We will give you the things you must prepare before you’ve an interview.
- Check your communication skill. It’s of prime importance because when you open your mouth, the interviewer will either select you or reject you. Of course, it’s based on how you open your mouth. Sounds humorous, but if your communication is not in place, it’s difficult to get a job that you like. A lot of fillers and unwanted pauses will take away your chances of success in an interview. But what to do if you’re a fresher and don’t have a proficient communication skill. Simply attend more interviews. You’ll figure out things by yourself.
- Find any mismatch between your qualification and the job you’ve applied for. The interviewers will definitely ask one or two questions from that. Prepare the answers well so that you can answer.
- Work on your weaknesses. A little improvement is okay. Just start and you’ll see a huge difference in confidence level during the interview.
- Know the technicalities well. Have a foundational knowledge about the industry you’re applying for so that if interviewers ask you any question in regards to that, you can at least attempt to answer it.
- Do a mental rehearsal of how the interview would go. Before the interview, sit silently for ten minutes. Close your eyes and imagine that you’re going in the interview room, greeting the interviewers, sitting and answering questions well and finally you’re hired. Just practice this scene again and again in your mind. It will help you cope up with the unwanted job hunting stress before the interview and also will result in positive results.
-
Perform
It’s a critical stage because it will decide whether you’ll be hired or not.
The first thing we would like to tell you is while performing, don’t try to impress the recruiters. By hook or crook, if you try buttering them, you will fail. Rather try this approach. Don’t worry about results. Just do your part. Answer all the questions you know. If you don’t know anything, simply accept it and ask the recruiter politely about the right answer.
This approach works best as you’re not trying to do anything impressive or lucrative to get the job and as a result you’re able to perform much better as you’re not attaching any thought of outcome with your performance.
-
Negotiate the compensation
If you feel that the company has been hiring you in less pay than you deserve, negotiate. The best approach when they ask you about salary, is saying that you’re open to negotiate. Then maybe they will ask you for a specific figure. Ask them back about the range of budget. They will tell you the budget. Choose the highest end of the budget if that suits you. If not, go for negotiation.
Start with this – I don’t think I’ve the bandwidth to fulfil your expectation in this budget. If the company has a room for increasing the budget (mostly they have), they will ask you directly about your expectation. Tell them a range. Remember the range you tell them is of utter importance, because they’ll pick the lowest part of the range you give them. So give them the range with prudence. If they agree even on the lowest range you quote, you win.
Congratulations, you’ve successfully negotiated your compensation.
As a fresher it seems difficult to negotiate the compensation. Recruiters may tell you things like – But you’re a fresher, you can’t ask for more. Tell the recruiter directly that you may be a fresher in professional life, but you’re not a fresher in life; you’ve learned, read, studied and mastered few skills for which the recruiter is hiring you. Don’t step back because you’re fresher. You can negotiate at any level if you know your worth.
-
Follow up
The last step is follow up.
Most people skip this.
They don’t want to follow up because they feel scared of rejection. But why should you get scared when there’re thousand other companies in the line? In an industry there are thousands and more companies. If one rejects you, learn from the experience and apply in another. Don’t stop until you get a job.
Thus, do follow up. Wait for one week from the interview date. If you receive no call from the recruiter or the interviewer, call the recruiter and ask about the interview. If you’re not scared at all to follow up, the best time to begin the process of follow up is sending an job hunting email to the interviewer and the recruiter stating that you enjoyed the interaction and you’re really interested for the position and attach a thank you note stating that you’re grateful for the opportunity.
This thing will help you stand out in the crowd and increase your chances of getting a job.
Now, suppose after taking the above steps, you don’t get a job? What then? Simply restart the job hunting process.
Job hunt is a process. And as individuals are different and cut from different clothes, there’s no customizable approach to everyone. As we go on a job hunt we have different approaches and we like to pursue something in our own ways. But the above steps are handy if you’re confused about where to start.
On final analysis there’re few things we should discuss which will ensure a successful job hunt.
- First, don’t think that by offering a job, any employer is doing you a favor. They’re not doing any favor. It’s business and it’s an exchange. They would like to use you as a resource and as a result they’re paying you salary. So, be confident about your abilities.
- Put money out of the equation at first. If you press too much on money, only thing that will concern you is how much a company pays. Even if money takes a big role in accepting a job, but that you can think of later. First think about the industry, people, growth, career graph and industry trend. Then decide.
- Don’t waste time. If you want a job now, forget about preparing your resume and ideal job hunt. This is called “getting ready” syndrome. Don’t get ready, rather get ready. You know the difference between the two.
- Finally, do the job for yourself. Don’t go for a job hunt because your friends or parents or anyone tells you to search for a job in a specific domain. Ask yourself – Am I interested in this field? If yes, go ahead. If not, find what you like and prosper.
Job hunt is easy if you begin right away. You’ve read this article already! What you’re waiting for? Pick up the phone and call the company. You job hunt starts now!
