Land That Job

When job hunting begins everyone is optimistic. You have in mind the perfect job, the perfect wage, and a good work/life balance. You go about putting your resume in at only the perfect places, smiling, happy to be on this adventure and friendly. If, as often the case may be, you don’t land your “dream job” right away the disappointment begins to set in and you decide maybe you don’t deserve that job, you are not qualified, experienced enough or ascetically pleasing enough. You then move down the list to the “less desirable jobs” and start handing out resumes and filling out applications. If this continues for more than a week depression and self destructive thinking can creep in and blind side you.

I know, unemployment is at an all time high, I have heard.  I don’t chose to participate in the recession and you don’t have to either. Yes you heard me, you can chose to get on with the business at hand, landing the perfect job.

Your dream job may be in a corporate office, landscaping, or somewhere in between, but whichever of these you are interested in be aware of your surroundings. If you have a passion for gardening and flowers and love to make a lawn look green and lush but live in Arizona….pack your bags, you have to go where the work is.  On the other hand if you crave the fast pace life of a legal secretary on big class action litigation suits and you live in a cabin in Arkansas…same problem. Whatever it is that you love there is an area that is overflowing with it, do your research and find that area. Once you have identified the where, you will need to identify the who, not as easy as the first quest but certainly attainable. Identify all the companies in the field you are looking for and learn everything you can about them. Look them up on the internet, ask around (word of mouth is generally the most helpful avenue) and talk to people who work there. Check them out, decide who you want to work for.

Once you have it narrowed down to a few select companies be prepared to sacrifice in the beginning for a long term commitment. At he interview be confident, smile, look the prospective employer in the eyes. Answer any question they have as honestly as you can even if you think it may hurt your chances, they probably already know the answer and are testing you or they will soon find out and then you look unreliable. Keep personal chatter to a minimum,  ask questions of them, ask them if they have any further questions and then as you are saying goodbye ask when you can expect to hear from them. Let them know that they are your choice employer but you are continuing your search and do not want to commit to another job until you have heard back from them.

If the company you really want can only hire you part time, take it and get e second job to make up the difference. Prove yourself and it won’t be long before you are climbing the ranks. You may have to get a part time job doing something else while you pursue the big fish, but don’t not give up, remember life is what happens to you while you are waiting, stay hungry.  Good luck.