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Job Hunting Checklist
July 7, 2009 | 1 Comment
To get a good job we need experience and education and a strong willingness to succeed. But unless we learn how to express those things no one else will recognize them, and no one else will know you are the right person for a job. There are many things we can do to learn how to express our strong points when we need to hunt for a job. I believe we should practice them even if we are not currently looking for a job. Some of the things we may want to practice are:
- Elevator pitch – a very short (30 to 60 seconds) paragraph that describes what you can do and how valuable you can be for your target employer. If you can’t express why you should be hired in a concise way, how do you expect a potential manager to ask/justify to upper management to approve of you being hired?
- Your Value Points – A good set of value points (3 to 5) that you feel comfortable explaining to someone else, including how they are useful to their company, and examples of jobs and success
stories where you have been able to prove them. If you practice them over and over (in mock interviews, for example), you will be able to relay them to your prospective employer during phone and live interviews. If you relay a consistent, complete message that shows why and how you qualify for the position they offer, you certainly improve your chances. - A presentation letter (Cover Letter) - One for each kind of prospective employer. This helps the prospective employer understand why you are better qualified (or specifically qualified) for the position they offer. It helps that person understand why they should not filter you out. Most importantly, just having it will stand out from the majority of the prospective applicants who forgot to send one — it improves your chances.
- A good resume – Chances are this is one of the very first communications you will have with a prospective employer. It has to create an impact and stand out from everyone else. It can not
be average. At a time when companies are receiving hundreds of resumes for each position, you better stand out from the rest in the 10 to 30 seconds that it takes the human resources person or the hiring manager to filter out each resume. Recognize that the resume may not be read entirely. Also, be aware that many resumes are first scanned by a computer looking for keywords. Also, make it in a format that is easy to copy and paste in a text box — many modern, electronic application forms do not accept fancy formatting, just the text.
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