News Finding the right job for you

Finding the right job for you

Job searching can be really daunting, especially when you’re not quite sure what you want to do. It might seem like everyone has a plan and their careers figured out but that can change, multiple times actually!

Speaking from experience when I was fresh out of school I was looking to do a degree in dance choreography or journalism, that was until we started writing personal statements for university and I had no idea what I wanted to do and I didn’t want to commit to such a huge choice.

Fast forward to the end of the year and I was embarking on an HR Apprenticeship – something I’d never considered before. It all happened so fast, luckily I heard about this position through family friends, otherwise, I might never have considered a career within HR.

I soon realised that this was a great fit for me and an area that I wanted to pursue long term.

So, with that being said, I wanted to give you some tips on finding the right job for you.

Don’t limit yourself
One of the most important things to remember is to not limit your search, you might have an area you are really interested in, but as the saying goes ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’.

It’s great to have aspirations, if you know what you want to do that’s fantastic! But the majority of us aren’t quite sure what that next step into the world of working means for us.

One thing I did when starting my job search was complete the free personality test, based on the Myers Briggs assessment. This test also gives you some careers ideas suited to your personality, this isn’t something that works for everyone but it was interesting to me as I felt it was accurate.

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

You’ll be amazed at all of the different careers out there that you have never heard of, let alone considered! So always keep your options open.

Research and Network
As I mentioned above it’s important to have aspirations, it’s also important to find a company who will support you in nurturing and growing these to fruition.

Make sure you research potential employers, look at their reputation in the market, their current employees and their length of service, their previous employees and where they are now, their company benefits and salary packages and their objectives and values. It’s important to work for a company whose values align with your own personal believes, this will ensure you are in the right environment to grow and ultimately be happy in.

LinkedIn is a great tool to support you with this. LinkedIn is a sort of social media for professionals as well as a bit of a job site and networking tool. Connect in with recruiters, internal and agency.

Contrary to popular belief it’s better to have a lot of varied connections on LinkedIn, this just means whenever you post you are hitting a variety of people across different industries. I would definitely advise on putting content out on your page around your job search, especially in the virtual world we’re living in now, it’s important for employers to see that you embrace these tools and are comfortable using them.

In the world we’re living in now we’ve seen the powers of community and supporting others. If you put something out there and ask for help, you will get help.

Make sure you’ve also registered your CV on all job boards, register with agencies, and reach out to direct employers. The job market moves so quickly and it’s so important to be pro-active in your search. Don’t just wait for opportunities to come up, get your CV out there and encourage employers to give you an opportunity before one has arisen.

There are so many candidates out there right now that one of the most important things in the job searching process is speed.

Make the most of opportunities
The majority of people I have spoken with throughout my career have switched professions and aren’t doing anything related to their degree or where they thought they would be when they left school. This is fine! As long as you make the most out of every opportunity you come across, even if you decide it’s not the one for you, there’s always something to learn.

You’re going to find opportunities in places you never expected and my advice would be to take advantage of these! It might be within an industry you’d never considered or a company you’ve never heard of, follow my above advice, do your research and be open-minded.

You may decide further down the line you want a career change, this is normal, don’t ever see a job as a mistake, it’s an opportunity to grow, learn and develop your skills in the working world. Anything you learn can be transferred into a different environment and just puts you one step closer to finding a job you’re fulfilled in.

The best employers see potential. Yes, experience is important but skills can be taught, the most important thing is attitude and passion. If you are willing to take a risk it will pay off – good employers will recognise and value qualities like resilience, adaptability, honesty, integrity and a strong work ethic.

Not every ‘no’ is a negative
Last but not least, you are inevitably going to get some rejections in your job search. Don’t take this personally, it happens to all of us no matter what stage you are at in your career.

Make the most of these situations and use these as opportunities to develop.

Make sure you ask for feedback on your application, what you were missing or any advice on your search moving forward.

You could gain some knowledge that could easily be solved such as tips on your CV. It might be that you just weren’t quite right for this one or someone just pipped you to the post, in that case you have gained a new contact in the industry who you can contact in the future.

Don’t get disheartened, the right job is always out there you just have to persevere!

Penny Wallace – Recruitment Specialist, Sytner Group.

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