How to find a good job

Does A Job For Life Still Exist?

If you are considering a career change, you might first ask if there is still such a thing as a job for life? Realistically, it's hard to still imagine someone working for the same company from the time they start working until the time they retire. Depending on the industry (and company) it isn't unusual to see annual turnover rates of 15%-20% or more. At the high end this would mean that in one year, lout of 5 people could change jobs.

In some businesses, the turnover rate is much higher. This would indicate that people are switching jobs and aren't afraid to do it. Given large forced downsizings that occur where you have no choice but to leave your company and look for a new job, this certainly helps to bump up the turnover rate. The reality is that a career change is something you will probably experience several times during your work life, whether it involves simply moving to a new company or actually changing industries completely.

Employment: Four steps in job search

The top salespeople are the ones who know the product they are selling inside and out. They know the strong and weak points of the product and can tell others about it. Looking for a job means selling yourself. You are the product. The more facts you know about yourself, the better job you will be able to get. Your prosperous employers would be interested to know about your education, qualifications, skills, interests, and previous job experience. If you don’t have accurate information or if you are uncertain about it, you’ll produce a poor impression. Your personal information is needed each time you look for a job during your lifetime. If you organize your facts now, you can simply update them as you get more experience. The following steps will help you to gather all necessary information and make the process of job searching much easier.

Advice for Job Seekers

Whether you are out of work or just looking for a better-pay­ing opportunity, there is no such thing as a foolproof way to get hired. You can, however, boost your chances if you are willing to work hard at aggressively promoting yourself. Here are some guidelines.

Apply in quantity. Oil people know that to get a gusher they have to drill a lot of holes. As a job-seeker, you must operate the same way. To get an offer for a good job, you must be prepared to apply - one at a time - to an army of potential employers. If you are sending fewer than several dozen applications every week, you're not trying hard enough. For if you don't make the contacts, someone else will. Aside from going after every ad­vertised job appropriate to your field, make yourself known to recruiters and employment agencies.

Tailor your sales pitch to the reader. With the exception of companies looking for a trainee or a corporate president, few employers will be interested in well-rounded jack-of-all­-trades. Usually, prospective bosses will be impressed only if your skills, achievements, educational background and experience are first rate and directly applicable to the specific job they want to be done as well as to their specific business. They don't care about anything else. When you include in a resume or let­ter information that is not pertinent, you waste space that you could otherwise use to focus on job- related strengths. You also waste the reader's time, an accomplishment that never makes good impression. Don't promise to deliver more than the employer requires.

If employers want more, they'll ask for it. Should you offer too much or your claims are too extravagant, you may be viewed as either a dreamer or someone who pursues unrealistic goals. Similarly, if you look too good on paper, the reader may erroneously conclude that your salary requirements are too high or that you would not be satisfied with the job for long.

They may be right. Perhaps the job is not a good one for you. But why prejudge? Don't oversell, get your foot in the door and decide for yourself.

Qualities That Impress Employers

Asked "How can one become a millionaire?" an American financier replied, "It's easy. Just find the right person to do your work and stay out of the way."
For an employee few decisions are more important than choosing the right job.

For an employer, few decisions are more important than choosing the right employees. Because finding the right person is so important, businesses are willing to spend huge amounts for recruitment. They pay transportation costs for inter­viewees, they pay the expenses of high-salaried recruiters who travel to distant cities, they maintain interviewing offices, and they solicit the help of public and private employment offices.

All these efforts are designed to match employers' needs with employees’ qualities. To continue earning a profit by providing high-quality goods or services, employers look for high-quality employees. They may not see each of them in every person hired, but they are looking for the following qualities:

Although the preceding list is not arranged to show any consensus about order of importance, it is true that employers understandably devote most of their attention to the first two qualities -doing the job and getting along with people.

Aware of the qualities that employers want employees to have, job applicants should have little difficulty in deciding what to talk about in their job-hunting efforts.