One of the things which we deal with most of our lives is filling or finding a job. I've gotten a lot of advice from professionals about what to do when you're looking for a job and I've summarized what they've said. I also include a few examples which have happened to me recently.
When we're looking for a job and when employers are looking to hire a new employee, the perfect fit should be based, not only on job experience, but your personality as well. Whenever you read postings about how to get a job, normally they talk about having a good resume in order to get the interview. Though this is important, it is only a single step that you take in the application process. I find it strange that many people have to go through this process as I've hardly ever had to submit a resume and more generally my employers have only wanted a resume to see what kinds of things I've done in the past. Whenever I've been set on getting a job, I've taken a similar approach my entire life.
My process of looking for work does not entail putting out hundreds of resumes, contrary to what my father wants me to do, but to look specifically at the jobs that I want and study the specific qualifications which are needed to fill the position. A bit of advice, if you don't have the "general" qualifications, it may not be the best idea to apply. There are certain factors which employers demand in order to employ people in a position, though there are others where this is not the case. If I fit the general requirements, such as having a degree in the position, or experience in the field, I'll take the other aspects of the position and begin to study up on the details in order to be ready to fill the position when I get the job.
A few months ago I decided that I wanted a new job in programming. Though I'd only taken a course or two in programming at the time, I thought that it would be beneficial to learn other programming languages. There was a job posting that requested someone who knew HTML, CSS, JavaScript and some others which I didn't know. When the semester got out for the Christmas break, I studied those topics everyday. When I came back to school, I decided that I wasn't going to get a job for the semester and focus on my studies. My loving fiancee saw a job posting that fit my personality and told me to apply. Skeptical, I looked at the job posting and sent a request asking if I could make my own hours if I got the job, and briefly described my abilities in each of the items listed. When I went in to talk to him, I was offerred the job within minutes and started that day all without sending a resume.
Recently, we conducted interviews for a position where I was working and my boss thought it might be beneficial for me to sit-in and ask questions as well. It shocked me what kind of people were trying to get a job in the position which was posted. People with little experience in the field; unkempt appearances; and people who generally seemed to lack the motivation necessary to keep up with the demands which come with the job. When we looked over the resumes, I was astounded at how poorly the resumes were structured.
My bosses were nice and accommodating with the questions, asking the usual questions a student would already know off hand like what they study in school, why they wanted the job, and where they expected to go with their careers. They each had pretty flexible answers which let me step in and ask important questions which I think about when looking for a job.
"What was the last thing that you taught yourself?"
I've never seen people stumble over the questions like that. Many of them had no answer and that they were just focusing on school and didn't have the time to teach themselves. That is definitely not a good answer, even for a student. If you want a job, you have to be ready for the responsibilities and what that says is that you don't have time for much else.
"How did you prepare for the job once you saw the job description?"
Another stumbling block. Many of them said that they hadn't, that they'd prepared their resumes better, or tried to make a joke about getting dressed that morning. They had no background to go off of these questions and left little weight in their presentation when we conversed about the position. When it came time to hire, we found the person that we thought had the most teachable personality rather than the background or experience which we were originally looking for.
Attitude is a wonderful thing and needs to be full of ambition and confidence. You need to study for the position and add insight to the goals which are being set. If you're not able to do that, you have no business applying for that position.
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