Looking for and applying for a career or job position is not one that most teens or young adults eagerly take on. It’s always stressful to some degree and often unsuccessful at first. However there are some guidelines and pointers that always help in this particular quest.
First, Ask Yourself Who You Are.
A good way to identify which positions you are best suited to is to self-examine your feelings and ask personal questions about yourself in terms of your personal and school experiences. In this way, you’ll help to discern what type of work will deliver the most satisfaction and motivation to you over the long term.
Some basic questions to ask yourself include:
What do you enjoy doing and what don’t you enjoy doing? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you find motivating? What have you done that you are proudest of? What are your short and long term goals?
To realize the full effectiveness of this exercise avoid giving short superficial answers. This will short-circuit what you are trying to accomplish – explore, examine, and extract what’s important to you. Truly and thoughtfully answer these questions in depth. You can then discuss these responses with others that know you well and flesh them out even further to find any inconsistencies in your answers.
Find Jobs That Cater To Your Desires And Circumstances.
Now you can take this information and translate it into jobs and careers that fit best with who you are, why you perform better, and how you react to situations. It’s basic common sense as most individuals will be happier and work better doing what they like to do. Start out with a broad list and then narrow it down so that it matches your strengths and avoids your weaknesses and best fits your needs and abilities.
Ask Yourself What You Want.
You should rank what characteristics of a job are most important to you. Obviously income is the primary reason we work but other factors such as benefits, location, opportunity, flexibility, prestige, responsibility and more also play a large role in your satisfaction and your ultimate choice. Establishing exacting criteria and minimum requirements beforehand will keep you focused and on target in your job search.
Prepare to Be Comfortable And Composed At The Interview
Though you may be a bit frightened or intimidated by the interview process, you are not the first and only to feel this way. Just about everybody facing this prospect feels the same.
Use it to your advantage. Leverage that nervous energy to psyche yourself up for the interview. The interviewer will appreciate your apparent nervousness, more than an extremely casual and nonchalant attitude that almost appears dismissive.
On the other hand, you do not want to portray excessive nervousness bordering on innate fear. Not only will it be sensed but it will impede you from performing and expressing your skills and compatibility with the position.
Since many of these feelings emanate from uncertainty, a good way to overcome this is to practice with someone you know. They should act as if they don’t know you and only draw questions and remarks from your resume. After this is over, ask your “interviewer” to assess your performance, and then take notes about that you did well and what needs improvement.
An even better method is to videotape the practice interview. This will tip you to possible flaws in your voice, mannerisms, nervous habits, and posture that you most likely wouldn’t be conscience you were doing.
Prior to the real interview, find out as much as you can about the company. This serves a two-fold purpose – you’ll know more about your potential employer and you will equip yourself to ask relevant questions of the interviewer which can only help to impress them.
On the other hand, if you are asking questions that were readily answerable beforehand, then this may indicate a lack of preparedness to the interviewer and harm your chances at landing the job.
Some other tips include allotting plenty of time between interviews so you are not pressed for time and in a rush as it will show through. Clear your mind of other matters before you enter the interview. Finally, have in mind how you want to express your strong points and any stories or evidence that add credibility.
Use these tips and strategies to help you find the right job or career for you and then ace that interview.