Dear Mikey,
Welcome to the job market! As in all marketplaces,
the job market has buyers and sellers. Prospective employers,
i.e., buyers, have a specific “product” in mind
and have to work with a limited budget. Sellers,
i.e., persons seeking employment should be able to show
that they have what employers are looking for. The first
thing to do is to be able to attract their attention long
enough to be considered worthy of an interview.
Help recruiters notice and read your resume.
Recruitment officers have to go through piles of applications
for entry level positions. A low-level
kind of shortlisting would be according to school, discipline
or course, and/or resume format. They may sort schools according
to preference or whether they think a school has expertise
in a certain discipline. They may also look at the course
you’ve taken, especially if the position being offered
is a highly technical one like chemical engineering or nursing.
The easiest way is to go by how the resume looks.
If it looks like those bookstore biodata forms that crumple
easily, it might not even be given a second look.
A serious looking resume has a short cover letter
with a subject heading about the job you are interested
in. It should include the course you took, your school,
important recognition you received as a student, important
positions you held in school, and any work experience you’ve
had. Under work experience include important school
events that you help put together. The resume itself should
be well organized, well-formatted – in other words,
easy to read. It should convey the message that you took
time to prepare it and are, therefore, worth a second look.
No need to use fancy paper - thick letter-size bond paper
will do.
Send your resumes to as many prospects as you selectively
can or to search organizations such as JobsDB.com. You,
too, should define the kind of work and work environment you are looking for. Check if your school has a placement
office and see what it can do to help you. Participate iin
job fairs in your school, city, or municipality.
Research, rehearse, be prepared, and be positive
and straightforward in your interviews.
Before you meet the interviewer, there are three things
you should do. First, research about the company, its competitors,
its products, the position being offered, the salary range
for that position in other companies. Second, be in business
attire – leave your sneakers, flip-flops, jeans, bohemian
skirts, trinkets, t-shirt, cap, and backpack in the closet.
Third, come in at least half an hour early.
Interview questions are usually of three kinds – traditional,
behavioral, and case-based. Many iinterviewers start by
asking you to say something about yourself. Tell
them everything that would relate to the job – your
course, accomplishments, organizations you were active in.
There is no need to go into detail about your family history.
Some would ask you about your strengths and weaknesses.
Again, keep it related to the job and give actual situations
which demonstrate these characteristics. Think
also of a weakness that could turn out to be a strength.
For example, you might say – but only iif it’s
true – that you find it difficult to tolerate a disorganized
desk and like to fix things before getting started. Avoid
overused remarks like, “I’m impatient with myself.”
Interviewers might ask you why you are applying for the
job and why you’ve chosen their company. This means
you have to do some research. Some interviewers even ask
how much you think you should be paid. If you’ve done
your research, you might give them a range instead of a
specific price. There are many websites on how to prepare
resumes and interviews. Check them out before you start
with the online chat or videogame. A helpful website is
www.careerplanning.about.com/od/jobinterviews.
True preparation for the job interview –
and for the job itself – starts with knowing yourself.
Examine your accomplishments, your hobbies, things that
get you motivated, comments from friends and mentors about
what you are good at. These all point out where
your gifts lie, where your heart finds joy, and where you
might shine. Take a look at situations that make you watch
the clock, that rob you of energy, and that make you feel
like you’re doing penance. These point to
your weaknesses. Matching your temperament to your career
will put you in a better position to do well in that career.
(A good reference book is Paul Tieger & Barbara
Barron-Tieger’s “Do What You Are: Discover the
Perfect Career for You through the Secrets of Personality
Type.” You may also want to visit
www.keirsey.com
for an online personality test and further explanations
on personality typing. You could also ask your guidance
office to run and interpret the Myers-Briggs Temperament
Indicator for you, if they haven’t done so yet). |
