In today's competitive job market, looking for a job may seem daunting. Everyone knows that there are no sure-fire, quick methods for finding that perfect job. But if you understand that it is a process involving a number of interrelated steps, then addressing each step separately and systematically may help alleviate the feeling that you are faced with an insurmountable task.
1. Develop self knowledge
If you know what you enjoy, what is important to you and what you are good at, it will be easier to find direction in your job search and sell your strengths to prospective employers.
2. Plan
Before leaping head first into your search, you need to have a strategy and set short and long-term goals. You can do this by exploring options and identifying job fields that interest and suit you and then clarifying your career direction. Then you will be able to develop an effective plan of action for securing that position.
3. Prepare
Your CV (the four and two-page versions), cover letters and application forms are key elements in marketing yourself to an employer. They need to be excellent, as you will always be up against stiff competition. Compiling a CV is no easy task - it will take several drafts to get it to a standard that will do you justice.
4. Gather information
By conducting interviews with people who work in the careers and organisations that interest you, you can gain knowledge about the jobs and organisations that best suit you and meet people who may be able to give you leads for job opportunities. (You can show off the information you have gained in your interviews.)
5. Target your sector of the job market
You should have a clear strategy for identifying and applying for positions that will expose you to as many appropriate opportunities as possible. Networking is the primary mechanism for mining the "hidden job market", but you can also access job opportunities through personnel agencies, newspapers, professional journals and the like.
6. Attend job interviews
Once your applications have worked their magic and have netted you a job interview or two, it's your preparation for and ability in the interview that will win you the position. To interview well, you need to know all about yourself, the job you are applying for, the company you are applying to and the actual interview process itself.
7. Decide and negotiate job offers
At this stage, you negotiate your conditions of employment, including salary (within limits). You should know the salary range you could expect and understand the issues involved. You may also have to choose between job offers or an opportunity that is not in your planned field a complex skill in itself.
8. Review the job-search process
It is not uncommon to encounter difficulties in your job search. It should be seen as a learning process, in which you continually re-evaluate your approach. If you feel discouraged, don't give up. Go over your groundwork again: look at how you are marketing yourself, re-work your contacts, re-focus your strategies or look further afield. Return to step one. Stay with it and good luck!
Mervyn Wetmore is the head of Rhodes University's career centre
