Career advice:  Getting that job!

Cheeky Employee

Yea, yea, we all know the drill: You set up your CV, job hunt for a while and finally interview.  Bam!  Then you have a job.  You need this for the same reason we need firefighters, sometimes things don’t quite go according to plan.

The base plan is good enough, but each step is a little more complex than it seems and takes just a bit of effort to get right.

The CV:

When you write your CV you aren’t a secretary simply typing out dates and information, you are a salesman.  The product you are selling is your service as an employee.  What are your features?  What makes you stand out?  Focus on your greatest achievements.  The employer only knows what you tell them.  Brag about yourself.

Quick tips:

Keep it up to date – CVs have about the same lifespan as a housefly.

Tailor your CV to each job application – ‘I am a perfect fit for *enter your company name here*’ just doesn’t work so well, does it?

Use wise discretion when deciding what to add and what to leave out – A short trilogy is not what they’re after, but be sure to include anything, anything that might get you that job.

List all and any qualifications – You never know when that summer of beekeeping training might come in handy.

The perfect cover letter – It must be bold, yet subtle, say everything and leave them wanting more.  Make them believe that your experience as a waitress makes you the ideal candidate to run this Broadway stage production.  People skills are people skills after all.

The Hunt:

Are you underqualified, overqualified, or just unsure?  Click apply and send that email.  Let’s weigh the options here, either you lose some time fixing up the CV that you could have spent watching series, or you lose the opportunity of landing a job beyond your wildest dreams.  Even if you think there is no chance at all, apply anyway.

The Interview:

This part is a bit trickier.  Yes, yes, you wish to impress.  You also need to protect yourself.  We have done many, many, many blogs about how to interact with people and I would advise you to take a look if you are unsure about how these conversations should be going, but I won’t be repeating myself here.

No this is rather different and more important.  You may face discrimination or other unfair treatment while getting interviewed that you need to watch out for.

Be on the lookout for any questions that don’t quite seem relevant to the position you are applying to.  Questions about your family, religion or sexuality are almost never important to the job application at hand.  Now, these are difficult issues to handle and you need to have a plan before you enter the room.  Will you supply a friendly response and try to build rapport or do you wish to keep your private life just that?

If you do not wish to disclose your personal information and believe it is not relevant to the job you are applying for, don’t act offensively and counter with a question.  Stay calm and say that you do not wish to discuss it as you are sure it will have no impact upon your commitment to the position and its responsibilities.

Now, you may stumble and fall and struggle and fail, but ultimately you will get that dream job.  Then you simply have to negotiate a fair wage and BAM you are a proper working man/lady.