Starting the job hunt, whether it is for a part-time summer role, internship or your first role upon leaving university, is a daunting experience. Where do you start? I’ve been there and it’s nerve wrecking. It’s the first experience you will have of entering the work force. Today we are in a competitive climate and standing out amongst your fellow friends and graduates is vital.
Understanding what you want is the first element that you need to get right. From here you can plan, set target goals, network, build your online professional profile and aim for the dream opportunity. What do you want to do and what do you want to be? Unsure? So was I but I looked into a couple of elements of myself and in time found what I love.
The following inner questions can assist:
- What type of environment would I like to work in?
- What products or services am I passionate about?
- What type of people would I like to work with?
- What are my key skills, are they transferable?
- What is my ideal community?
- Where do I see myself in 5 years time?
- Do I want to be a people manager?
- What are my salary expectations?
- Do I want to work abroad/travel?
If you can ask yourself these questions and write out your answers you’ll start to create your career plan. With a time frame in place and a list of companies to target it is now time to sell your professional profile. Let’s look at the check list:
- CV
- Cover Letter
- Interviewing techniques researched
- Networking plan
- Online profile (LinkedIn, My Visual CV, Twitter, Blog)
- List of companies and who the correct contact is
- RSS feeds from job boards, company career sites
- Mentor in place
The above will hopefully get you thinking of the 360 degree effect that you will need in place to get searching!
My blog will uncover some of these techniques in detail. I am here to assist so please get in touch! Happy hunting! It’s all there for you…….
