Looking for a job is a job and in today's post I am telling you about my experience of looking for a better job.
This path wasn’t smooth at the beginning of my professional career but it taught me a lot not only about my profession but about myself too.
Having the right mindset is equally important as having a good written CV but that no recruiter will tell you. So listen to my tips, get your attitude and make sure to comment and like this post, because there is a second part coming.
My tips here are gathered through my experience of working as a professional and also changing jobs. And these tips should be learned at schools because this is a solid base of every human fighting for his dream job and sometimes experiencing crooked roads on his way. So this is not something you will hear from a recruitment agency or any other place because to look for a job you want, is not only about your education or skills. There are other factors, really important, which you need to take into consideration.
I always say that looking for a job is a job itself so you really need motivation and determination to do this and you need to do that in the right mindset.
Tip 1
And the first thing is to don’t take rejection as a personal failure. Because it is not about you. It’s about a job. You as a person, you are smart, educated and worth it. Getting to an interview is already an achievement and for sure you have learned something new already during this interview. I went to many interviews in Norway to companies like Microsoft or Cisco etc. I learned a lot about these companies exactly during the interview, about company culture, their structure and how they work. It gave a unique inside experience to be able to meet and talk to some of the employees there and I never felt that I failed during the interview. Maybe this time, this job was not a job for you. When I was looking for my first job in London I went to many interviews but I got my first job relatively quickly - around 1 month - which I think wasn’t bad at that time. But my second job and third job, when I wanted to change jobs - oh man! - that was a marathon. Yes, you heard me correct - looking for a job is like a sport, like running, everyday you put on a suit and you go for an interview.
Tip 2
So my tip number 2 is to don’t give up. If you set up your mind, you really want to change a job, you are determined to do it, then it is only a matter of time. Trust me, I know what I am talking about. I was working in one company for already 3 years - it was the longest in my career to work in one place and I was desperate to leave. I was going for job interviews during my lunch breaks, sometimes I needed to change clothes, you know, to wear a suit for an interview and I was changing in McDonald's toilet. Once in that suit on the way for an interview on the tube I met my line manager - he didn’t say anything but I am sure he knew what I was doing. So yes my friends, I really know how hard it can be to look for a job but I never gave up. As a matter of fact it was exhausting and strenuous. We had a small baby at home, we didn’t have family to support us, I was tired, sometimes slept badly at nights but I didn’t give up and I kept looking until I found it.
Tip 3
Treat every interview as a new lesson, this is a way to learn something new about yourself and this experience will help you in the next interview. For example, I always thought that I am a technical brain so I wasn’t afraid of questions from Human Resources, you know questions like: How would you rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10? Or Tell me about the gap in your CV, What is your biggest achievement so far? Etc but I found out that that kind of question comes to me naturally and I really get connection with HR interviewee. For that matter I almost always ace that part of the interview and what I failed was - Surprise! A technical test. Yes, you hear me correctly. Why? Well, because that was material which I got in the first or second year in my University, I forgot some things and to be honest you rarely use them in everyday work. I am sure you can relate to that, that we learn many things at the university which we don’t use in our profession, it is like you should know them and you know them because well you finished your university but later on you just forget them. Anyway, what I want to say here is that every interview is a lesson about your possibilities, things you need to focus on for a next time but it is also a value. And you know what? If you are lucky you might have a similar question next time :)
I have 4 more tips which in my opinion you need to implement to look for a job with the right mindset and to succeed with a “great job”, but I need to stop here, my friends, because I don’t want this post to be too long.
In the meantime if you think this post is helpful for you and you want me to explain something particular, comment below and I will try to include it in the second part of this posts. Hope you can relate to many things I said already and you don’t give up on finding your dream or just a better job. I think that all of us deserve to have jobs we are passionate about and I am really into helping you to achieve it by telling you my story which I think you can find inspiring. Please comment below, give me likes and subscribe if you haven’t done that before for more inspiring stories and useful tips. And remember stay tuned for the second part of this video. Adios!