Essential tips commonly used by successful job hunters

Essential tips commonly used by successful job hunters

By Pri Notowidigdo

JAKARTA (JP): Are you looking for a job? Or are you exploring
opportunities to reposition yourself in the market?

Either way, you may want to consider these essential tips used
by successful job hunters:

1. re-examine your attitude,

2. prepare a resume that attracts the reader's attention,

3. define your target area and

4. prepare for job interviews.

Re-examine your attitude

Try to sustain a positive attitude. Be creative and imaginative
in order to be able to exploit new opportunities. The impossible
becomes the possible, the improbable becomes probable.

Taking this attitude will prepare yourself to deal with the
unknowns. At the end of the day, remember that you choose to be
happy or you choose not to be happy. You are ultimately
responsible for your own future.

Most importantly, be agile and flexible particularly as the
certainty of uncertainty increases. Creating opportunities gets
better results than simply waiting for opportunities.

While staying comfortable may provide the illusion of
security, taking risks and seemingly being a little out of
control enables you to explore the full range of the possible
future.

In more practical terms, a positive attitude means focusing on
three areas: namely competence or having skills and the
capability it takes to do your work well; contribution or knowing
how your competence can add value to the organization and its
customers; and difference or knowing that what you contribute is
important and can make a difference.

Resume preparation

Your resume has to attract the attention of the reader who
should be the decisionmaker.

As an old hand in communications once advised me, apply the
"AIDA" concept. What is AIDA? It stands for Attention Interest
Desire Action; the four-step process to generate a meeting with
your reader, a prospective employer.

How? Put yourself in his shoes and ask: What kind of resume
would get your attention? What would kindle your interest if you
were a business owner? What would make a person feel that he
wants to meet you? What would influence him to eventually meet
you for an interview? Sounds too good to be true? Not really.

First of all, strengthen the content and presentation by
improving these eight areas:

* Position the title and job description -- Provide the title
of each job you have had, briefly outline your objective for each
position, and state one to three measurable achievements;

* Detail -- Point out some of the challenges you have faced
successfully in your professional life;

* Dates and places -- Either be specific about where and when
you worked or omit ambiguous circumstances;

* Relevance -- Focus on highlighting those aspects of your
background which are relevant to the prospective employer's
business needs, not yours;

* Clarity -- Don't assume that the reader knows what you know.
For example, when you refer to McDonald's, are you referring to
the fast food restaurant or to McDonald's Construction?;

* Length -- As a writer once told me, keep it to a "kiss", and
I don't mean a kiss on the cheek, but that it is short and
simple. Keep your resume to no more than two pages because it
normally gets only seven seconds of the reader's attention on
first glance. And do not forget that the purpose of the initial
resume is to generate an interview;

* Spelling, grammar, and punctuation -- Make sure that your
document has no grammatical or spelling errors. First impressions
count! Use a spell-check or have someone else proofread your
document, especially if English is not your first language; and

* Readability -- The "kiss" principle applies here again.
Organize your thoughts in a clear and concise manner which makes
it pleasant to read.

Identify the target

Advertisements are helpful in finding a job and provide a
useful barometer of market demand. But also remember that the
advertisements in the newspaper represent only the tip of the
iceberg of potential opportunities available to you in the
market.

Consider these other sources:

* Electronic job listings, unlike classified advertisements,
tend to be more highly descriptive of both the job and the hiring
company, for example, ADNET, PRODIGY, Genie, Compuserve and
America Online. You can also register with "headhunters" on-line
like careers.wsj.com, www.fortune.careermosaic.com,
futurestep.com, www.headhunter.net, www.moster.com,
www.peoplescape.com.

* Industry and professional journals, trade magazines, and
newsletters often run job ads and furnish information that is of
particular interest to their readership.

* Think like a headhunter, and research and target those
companies you would be interested in working for. You would be
surprised at how many candidates I have talked to who have no
idea of the number of companies in their field. These are all
potential job opportunities. Select which ones interest you and
write directly.

* Use your network of professional associates, family members,
and friends to get market information, tips and prospective job
leads.

Winning interviews

The success of any job interview will depend on your ability
to figure out the employer's business needs and empathize with
the interviewer. Ask questions that verify your understanding of
what the interviewer says to you, without expressing an opinion.
Besides empathy, four other requirements for a successful
interview are:

* Enthusiasm -- Show your interest in the job, the company and
its products or services;

* Confidence -- Do not appear arrogant or overly confident.
But do show that you are comfortable with your skills, knowledge,
and experience;

* A focused orientation -- Be relaxed but not overly relaxed.
Do not talk too much. Let the interviewer lead the way but be
responsive.

Interviewing involves the exchange of concrete information and
feelings. Present your background clearly and thoroughly.

Get background information about the company, the industry,
the position and the specific opportunity.

Relate your goals, interests and values with what you believe
reflect the company's.

The company's website is a good start. Your goal should be to
make a persuasive presentation on how the company can benefit
from hiring you based on how you have built a rapport with the
interviewer and from asking the right questions.

If you follow the above essential tips when seeking a job, you
will likely be in a good position to choose the job of your
choice.

Good hunting and good luck!

The writer is a managing partner of Amrop International, a
member firm of The Amrop Hever Group - Global Executive Search.