Findinga Job

This month, many thousands of new professionals add to the numbers of the country’s available workforce. These graduates from the various colleges and universities are soon to be looking for jobs. Their search, unfortunately, will not be easy.

Today, there seem to be much more job seekers than there are jobs available. To the average job-seeker, no matter how ample his ability, it is just hard to find a spot in the labor market. Fortunately, there are techniques which can be learned easily, and those who master these quickly will have better chances of finding a job.

First of all, the job seeker shall bear in mind that there are always jobs available, only at different levels. Many of those who already have jobs are always moving on to better jobs, creating vacancies for new hires. And there are employees retiring every day, some being promoted and others quitting their jobs.

So, at any given time there are employers in need of people. The job seeker just has to be the right person for the prospective employer’s need. He must know how to communicate his potential value to the employer.

Choosing and applying for a job is a full-time job in itself. The job applicant who goes about his job hunt half-seriously is not likely to get good results. And one rejection after another is the fastest way to deplete his self-confidence.

While still applying for a job, the applicant is already working – as his own salesman. He is working to sell his ability to an employer. Towards that end, he shall work seriously 48 hours a week – until he gets the job he wants, at which point he still has to work the same number of hours, with the same seriousness at work; only that now he will be working for somebody else.

Like any good salesman, the job applicant shall have ample knowledge of his product – himself. Thus, it is important to do an honest-to-goodness self-inventory, to have a realistic idea what he’s good at, of the things he can do very well.  It’s naïve to presume that simply because he is a graduate of a certain course he is capable of doing anything that seems to point to his academic training.

Surprisingly, after making an honest self-inventory, most people realize that they have underestimated their potentials. Many fresh college graduates, for instance, tend to feel that they have nothing special to offer. On the other hand, there are those who delusively think they can do anything under the sun.

A clear idea of what skills one has and the kind of job he wants will make him grounded. He may resize his job aspirations or he may polish on his skills. Then he may start looking around and see if the concepts in his head match the reality on the ground.

One may not find a job that seems right for him in his first few attempts. But the applicant shall not lose heart. It’s a phase that even today’s top professionals had once been through.

In looking for a job, one may not even have to look far. He who really believes he has the ability to sell to someone else may try selling it to himself. He may start his own small business. Many of the biggest employers around have started it this way.