If you don’t want to end up working in a bar or making sandwiches, you’re going to need to take a bit of time to figure out how you’re going to get the job you want. You can bet good money that an opportunity will not just throw itself into your lap. They’re not like that. Opportunities are something you have to work for.
And besides, as Louis Pasteur – the guy who invented the germ theory of disease and pasteurization, in the case the name didn’t ring a bell – said, chance favors the prepared mind. That’s right. It wasn’t Einstein, Buddha or Shakespeare who said that. Those guys weren’t half as sharp as the internet makes them out to be.
Anyways, back to the question at hand. You can’t prepare if you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing. So that’s what we’re going to look at today.
Work on your Resume
You’d think it would be pretty obvious, but still it needs to be pointed out. A bad resume is like somebody showing up at a business meeting with their information written on a slip of paper, rather than with a business card. It is not going to leave a good impression.
And yes, of course you might be able to glibly talk your way out of the hole that that puts you in. But why would you want to? Would you want to start out one person down on your sports team? Would you like to do a jungle trek without shoes? So why would you not make sure your Resume is the best it can be?
Your resume is not a biography
It is a marketing campaign. So be selective in what you put on there. I’m sure your collection of stamp collection is phenomenal, but are you sure you want to list that under hobbies? And those two weeks you spent working at a meat packing plant are probably also not the most suitable to include.
Now that does not mean you should lie. Lies on your CV can get you in all sorts of trouble and might even lead to criminal prosecution. But it doesn’t mean you’ve got to expose every wart and talk about every fart you ever did. Don’t know what to include and what to leave out? Think about talking to a resume expert. They can really make a big difference.
It’s not all about you
Contrary to what you may think, the job application process is not all about you. It’s actually about the company you’re applying to. And they’re not interested in you as a person. They’re only interested in you as a solution to a problem they’ve got – namely a hole in their organization.
Make sure you make your pitch reflect that. Talk about how what you do can help them and how it gives you the skills to solve their problems. This is both true for your resume as well as when you go to your interviews.
Use your network
You know that quote, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know? It’s still true today. And so, make certain that you reach out to your network. But I don’t know anybody, some of you might now say. And perhaps you don’t.
The thing is, you can’t be sure. After all, somebody in your network might know people you’re not aware of who they’ll gladly get you in touch with. All they need to know is that you’re looking.
So reach out. And don’t just email bomb or social network bomb lots of people. The more people you contact in one go, the less likely each individual will respond. They’ll assume somebody else out there will help you instead. The way to sidestep that is to reach out to people individually. Yes, it’s more time consuming, but it will be far more effective.
It’s a numbers game
Getting a job should be a full time job. Why? Because every application only has a small chance of getting you in the door and an even smaller chance to get you the job. That shouldn’t make you despair, however, because you only need one job offer!
The solution is a numbers game. If you add a lot of small chances together you eventually end up with a really big chance. And that’s what you’ve got to aim for. Keep plugging away, while trying to hone your application skills as you go. If you successfully do that, then you’ll get the job you want – no matter how long of a shot it is. Because if you throw the basketball from the other side of the court enough times you will eventually get a basket.
And when you’ve done that it doesn’t matter how many balls you’ve missed, does it? It’s that you hit that counts.
About the author: Samantha Brannon is an entrepreneur and freelancer. She is also a co-founder and writing editor at Trust Essays writing service. Samantha loves self-education and rock music. Connect with her via Twitter
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