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So you want a job? by Scott Boyd

Are you sure now?

Think about it. You’ll have to drag your sorry ass out of bed every morning just to work for some guy who probably wont respect you and leave at the end of month with a pay check that’s been crippled by tax.

It’s not for everyone, so for those of you who have changed your mind about the whole work thing, then go away.

Good, now we’ve weeded out the worthless scum, let’s move on.

What you need to start

Well, an idea of what you want to do. If you already know what you want to spend the rest of your life doing then move on, otherwise follow these steps:

1. Write a list of all the things that you enjoy doing and that you are good at. These can be specific hard skills (HTML programming, speaking French, building computers, etc) or soft skills (communication skills, interview skills, teamwork skills, etc). Be generous about yourself and also add anything that you think you could be good at.

(have a look at my article, marketing yourself, for some ideas)

2. The next step is to come up with a general area or industry in which your skills can be put to best use (marketing, customer service, engineering, IT, etc).

3. If you don’t know which areas your skills would fit into well, then base your choice on what you want to do (ie, what you like doing, what you could be happy doing as a job).

4. OK, now here’s the hard part – you need to use all this info to come up with something to aim to – you need to find a job role. To do this, search for a company that sells or does what you want to do.

My article, finding jobs in the Internet, has some useful tips for searching online.

5. Find out from this company (either on their website, or by contacting them directly) the types of positions that they have (and the skills involved and the qualifications / experience required) and try to relate them to yourself.

6. Example: you’re good with computers, enjoy speaking French and know a lot about widgets. Look for a French based computer company that specialises in widgets, so you can find out about the kind of people that they hire. At this point you should try to keep it pretty general – you just need an idea of what you need to achieve to get there (and it is highly unlikely that you will work for this particular widget company!).

 

7. You now have a goal to aim to.  You should get information on the qualifications, experience and personal qualities that the company look for in their staff, and use this as your goal.  Compare this with your own list of skills and experience so you can work out what you still have to do to get your ideal job.

 

Still stuck?  Then ask for some advice on our discussion forum.

 

Best of luck.

Regards

Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice

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