Let your job search be smooth sailing

You are all set to take off in life and have set for yourself well-defined career objectives. You are also clear in your mind about what your principles, convictions, standards and ideals are, particularly as pertinent to your goals and ambitions. Research undertaken by you vis-à-vis different career options available has also been conclusive. 

Now, if your self-evaluation tells you that it is time to go ahead with a job search, remember that the road ahead could be plagued with more contests, tests and trials. Aspects that warrant focussed attention and guarding against are avoiding mistakes generally committed while searching for jobs, drafting a resume and facing an interview. The same are discussed in the succeeding paragraphs.

When you set about with job hunting, you need to ensure that the following hitches commonly faced by people are averted:

· Ignorance with regard to what you seek to do: You should be explicit in your job hunting aims. No company will take you if you have a tendency to accept anything; on the contrary, it will hire an appropriately qualified person with a clear career objective. However, you cannot be rigid in your search efforts.

· Failure to be enterprising: You ought to take the lead in getting a job. It is necessary that you begin early and move ahead in small steps because job hunting can be a long drawn-out process.

· Inability to comprehend employers’ viewpoint: All employers look for facilitation of their work. Before you meet any, even for an interview, your study about them and their concerns has to be detailed.

· Rigidity towards locations of prospects: A realistic and flexible outlook is essential to discern the places where opportunities are positioned. You need to be willing to embark upon the correct path to attain your objectives.

Another important issue is that of your resume. What exactly is a resume? It is simply a scripted instrument that enables you to sell yourself to a prospective employer and happens to be the maiden information about you for him. Therefore, it ought to speak about you. There are different ways in which a resume can be drafted; more often than not, the formatting is contingent on whether you have to your credit any prior experience or not and what your career objectives are. Whatever be the manner in which you draft your resume, you cannot afford to err on accuracy, brevity and clarity. It should be free from spelling and grammatical errors. A review of the same prior to despatch is inescapable.

Getting a call for a job interview is a significant achievement by itself because had it not been for your suitability, you would not have received it. You need to thus prepare for it so that the experience proves to be delighting and successful. The first impression that you make in an impression will always matter. And the best way to do so is by being smartly turned out. The interview format per se will differ from company to company; and could well be determined by the number of vacancies and applicants. You simply cannot prognosticate every question that could be put up to you, however, if you prepare yourself to answer the more common ones without a glitch, you definitely stand a good chance to crack the interview.

A job interview is an occasion that decides if you get a job or not. While most candidates do make exhaustive preparations and are able to answer general questions generally well, it is the difficult ones that make a difference. You should be attentive and comprehend what is being put up to you for a response. The questions put could well be with the intention of gauging your qualifications, knowledge and makeup. Through your responses, it will be determined if you have the potential of a trustworthy and efficient employee; and whether your hiring will meet company interests or not. Your responses should be short and sweet and manifest your optimism. It is best to acknowledge facts but while presenting them, they should be characterised as benefits or shortcomings. You need to keep your wits about; and respond to the fundamental queries by casting your allied talents and abilities. Regrettably, most people blunder in this and get eliminated. 

An interview is a do or die event. You cannot afford to be content with stating whatever you are otherwise capable of. Your responses should manifest your knacks and capacities; this is best achieved if you give examples and supplement them with facts and figures. While you may feel that you possess the desired skills to acquit well in the job for which you are being interviewed, the employer may not feel likewise; and hence needs to be reassured. You need to emphasise the strengths you will bring to the position in question and the reasons why you will come up to organisational expectations. A well-planned and professional portfolio will thus serve to sell yourself better.