Need A Job?

FOR STARTERS....

This advice applies to those still in school not yet looking for a job, but the concepts and tools can be used by everyone.

Many people think the process of getting a job starts when you start looking. However the most successful people start this process before they start looking for a job. They start performing well in school or volunteering. That said, the past is gone. All you can do is start performing now whether you need a job or not. Why not start by writing a target résumé that shows how you want your résumé to look at some point in the future?

We would like to share some of our ideas about how to prepare for success by introducing you to a fictional character named John Econosmith. John Econosmith loves economics and wants to help reduce the economic divide between rich and poor nations around the world. He is in his last year of high school and wants to go to the University of Toronto, but would like to contribute so significantly to his chosen field that the two schools that he admires most - commonly considered to be among the best in the world - Harvard and Oxford - will eventually give him honorary doctorate degrees.

Economist Target Résumé.

This is a concept the Phree Shares Inc. proposes for those soon to graduate from high school. Students are often at a disadvantage because they follow the common path to finding a job: they choose their school, their educational program, then look for a job.

We propose that you reverse that order: look for a job, their educational program and then choose their school. 

That way you pick the educational program that will best enable you to find a job. During your job search if you realize that all the jobs you like are calling for a 3-year college education in advertising and a portfolio of advertising campaigns, it would make more sense to choose a college with a 3-year college program that gives students an opportunity to build a portfolio than a 4-year university that does not have such a program. 

By looking for a job we do not only mean taking a look at what job ads are asking for, although that is a start. We also mean interviewing - but not being interviewed; interviewing an interviewer to find out what they recommend in terms of preparation. You can make great connections by seeking an information interview with an executive that can give you great advice, and could eventually play a role in you getting your foot in the door. 

You can write a letter to such an executive requesting a short information interview to help you decide upon how to educate yourself, well before you make your educational decision. John wrote his at the end of July, the summer before his last year in high school - an ideal time in case it takes plenty of follow-up phone calls before he can get an appointment to meet an executive. Keep in mind this is one of the many letters he should write; the more he writes, the better the chances of him meeting the right person to give him the right advice, who may be able to help him get the right job in the future.

Here is a sample letter requesting an information interview from the President of one of the companies for which he wants to work after furthering his education:

Information Interview Request Letter

After writing this letter John follows up by calling many times to get to speak to the company president to arrange a meeting. After trying to call him ten times without success, the president finally takes his call and invites him to meet with him at a time his administrative assistant arranges. John has a great conversation with the president who recommends University of Toronto's Economics and Mathematics program. 

John ends up accepting this as the best advice considering what he wants to do with his life. He follows it. In his last year of university he writes another letter to that company president (along with other letters to executives with whom he met).

This is that letter:

Request Letter for Follow-up Interview

After writing that letter and having another positive interview, the company president directed John to apply directly to the head of Human Resources stating that he advised John to apply. So, John wrote the following letter:

Sample Cover Letter

This approach, although it takes time and significant planning, will have far better results than applying the same way most applicants do - only for the minority of jobs that are advertised.

Motivational Exercise: Target Letter of Recommendation

You can also write a target letter of recommendation in which you describe how you would like to be described by your references. You then need to work towards giving them the impression that you are as great as you dream of being. If you do a good job, when you need them to write a letter of recommendation for you it will resemble your own you wrote ahead of time. 

Interviewing well is all about showing you are a giving person. An employer wants a giver not a taker. You should be a giving employee - giving of your time, your hard work, your opinions (for some employers), your ideas. Takers are unattractive. 

Imagine interviewing someone that kept trying to find out how much they could take from you without speaking about what they would give you in return? 

Instead, why not talk about how much you can give and leave it up to the interviewer or other employees to let you know how much THEY will give you in return? You will make a much better impression. When you are permitted to ask questions, instead of asking a "take" question, like "What is the social environment like here? Or opportunities for advancement?", why not say, "What are the qualities that enabled the best employee ever to hold this position to be the best employee?". Then why not tell the interviewer why you are sure you can also use those qualities to be a great employee?

"Take" questions are still important if you are unsure of whether you would want to take the job or not, should it be offered to you. 

ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH!

Always tell the truth in your interview. To tell the truth and also make a good impression, you have to truly be a committed worker and a "giver". Lies will come back to haunt you whereas the truth will set you free (in the long run)! We admit that you could get a job more easily and prosper more in the short-run by lying. But this is short-sighted. If you say that you are a perfectionist and it is not true, as many think is a good weakness to have, your employer will see the truth when they hire you and you leave things undone and imperfect without the desire to perfect them. They likely will never promote you once they realize you said things in your interview that sounded good even though they were not true. How could they ever trust you? They might even fire you. 

A good way to handle interviews is to honestly say what other people who have worked with you have said about you. This way it doesn't sound like you are bragging and the opinions that other people voice are impartial. For instance, we would like to say that people say that we are honest and have references that say that, rather than just saying we are honest ourselves - which liars would say too! 

COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

In an interview you should always be prepared to describe yourself in a concise and honest manner. You can practice this so you will not be nervous when you need to do this in the interview. You should prepare yourself for interviews by thinking of important lessons you have learned throughout your school, work and personal life that make you a good employee. Situations that taught you lessons can come up as examples and are necessary to draw upon in difficult "situational interviews". Thinking about these situations in advance will help you remember them more clearly in a difficult interview - and make you a better person too because you will be less likely to forget those lessons if you think back to them now!

One of the most common interview questions is, "What are your strengths and weaknesses?"

BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS

Many employers want to know what your strengths are. We do not suggest you lie about this. You can have a great strength by committing today to be honest with your employer and co-workers. Employers will like this strength, and anyone can have this as a strength by deciding to stop lying to people. You will receive great long term benefits by doing this!

WRITE DOWN YOUR STRENGTHS

Why not try writing down your strengths as an exercise? Then you can review this periodically and before all of your job interviews or business planning sessions (if you are an entrepreneur for instance). This will mean you will be able to confidently list your strengths in an interview, and use them on the job and in your day-to-day life to help you. Using your strengths is a good way to overcome your weaknesses - this is the secret to many successful people's success! If you are not impressed with your top three strengths, why not work on developing some other characteristics or skills so that you can be happy with the areas in which you are strong?

ADMIT YOUR TRUE WEAKNESSES

Many people are afraid to be honest about their weaknesses because of a lack of understanding. This is what we do and has worked well for us: we develop strategies to reduce the negative effects of our weaknesses. For instance, if we are not concise enough sometimes we would make it a habit of asking how much time we have to speak before speaking at a show or in a presentation, then we would do what we need to do to ensure we do not go over time. This works well. 

Then in an interview we can admit that one of our weaknesses is that we are not concise enough sometimes when we speak, but also speak (concisely!) about the strategy we have used to overcome that weakness. This is an impressive way of handling weaknesses and overcoming them. 

WRITE DOWN YOUR TRUE WEAKNESSES

We encourage you to write down your true weaknesses - if you do not know what they are ask friends who have worked with you. Then develop strategies to overcome each one! Then implement the strategies. Then you can perform well in an interview, while telling the truth, even if you are asked what your weaknesses are. Always include the strategies and have examples of how they have worked for you prepared to tell your interviewer if they want some examples.

NEED A JOB?

There are several opportunities available - even listed right now on the Internet. You know yourself best and what kind of job you want. We encourage you to start searching and using a variety of sources to search. Ask around. Your ideal job could be just around the corner. If you ask anyone who has found their dream job they will likely tell you that it could take a long time to find or qualify yourself for, but it is quite worth the patience and effort! If you ever consider giving up, click on the Giving Up? link. We encourage you to be patient and show endurance...that is what finally wins the race!

Keeping busy helps you to be patient...have you ever considered starting a club? What would you say if we told you that we know that you already have? Check the Start A Club! link to see what we mean.

Copyright Phree Shares Inc. 2009