Are you a fresh graduate looking for your first job? Are you wondering why your friends are getting jobs but not you? Do you ever wonder why someone with poorer marks or percentages than you is getting a job instead of you? Do you regularly hear of many people getting job offers with mind-boggling salaries in large MNCs?
If your answer to all these questions is yes, then you are not alone. There are millions of people like you. Many are confused, annoyed or even dejected. Fear not. Countless people before you have been in your situation and like them, you too can overcome this challenge. What you need is a direction, trust in your ability and hard work.
Let us look at some Do's and Don'ts that should help you land a good job.
First the Dos
Communication
Like it or not, English is the medium of communication at an increasingly diverse work place. Until Indian languages attain a status on par with European ones, we have to live with this reality. The most important thing to learn is how to communicate your thoughts effectively.Confidence
With communication and subject knowledge comes confidence. It is not how much you know that matters, but how confident you are that does.Know Yourself
What do you really want to do? What are the things that most interest you? Do you like being with friends or would you rather do things on your own? Do you like technology and gadgets or do you stay away from them? Answers to these questions will reveal the kind of person you are.Effective Resume
A good resume is the key to the countless opportunities that are available around you. So, take the time to draft and revise your resume until you have one that is cleanly formatted, readable and high on content.Research
Once you know more about yourself, you should be able to identify careers that match your personality. Use this to research companies that offer such kinds of jobs. Thanks to the internet, there is plenty of information about various companies or organizations that exist in your sphere of interest.Network
The good news is that the days of recommendations are declining, so you don't need a big shot politician uncle to get a job. Who you know however is still going to carry weight over what you know most of the times. So, make sure that you maintain good relationships with your classmates, seniors, juniors, lecturers, etc. People in your network can be valuable sources of leads for you. Many companies prefer to hire through internal references, so knowing someone in a company that you are interested in working for would be very helpful.HR Consultants
There are many professional HR companies that will not charge you any fees for dropping off your resume or even after finding you a job. So you have nothing to lose and everything to gain in making HR consultants your friends. Identify at least one or two good HR consulting companies that are professional and courteous. Visit them and drop off your resume so that they can call you in case of a vacancy that matches your education and skills. Since the HR consultants are working with many clients day in and day out, staying in their good books will certainly help at least in the long run.Interview Preparation
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying “If I had to chop a tree in 8 hours, I would spend 6 hours grinding my axe.” Once you have identified a company, sent in your resume and got an interview call, it is time for you to prepare for the interview. The more extensive the preparation, the better your chances of getting a job. Learn about the company through their website, through your network, through HR consultants, trade magazines and whatever other means that you can think of. It is also the time for you to learn about the job itself - what are the requirements, what will be your job responsibilities, what are the skills needed, etc. The more you know about the company and the job, the more confidence you will have during the interview. Use the data collected to prepare possible questions and practice how you will answer them.Act
Mahatma Gandhi said “Actions express priorities.” If you are not going to prepare a good resume, not going to improve your communication skills and not going to research about companies and job opportunities, do not expect to get a job. It is true that there are hundreds of thousands of jobs available, but it is even more true that rarely will jobs come searching for you.
Now the Don'ts
Do not lie
There are many people who will wrongly advise you to lie on your resume. In your desperation to land that first job, you may be tempted. Do not succumb to that temptation because it is bad advice. It is your career and your life that can be scarred forever. We increasingly come across candidates who have been fired by their employers because of lies in their resume. These are not entry-level employees. People with many years of experience and proven performance have been sent home because companies are developing a zero tolerance policy.Do not bribe
It is surprising that there are so many people who are willing to pay a bribe to get a job. Do not pay a bribe. It may work in the short term but in the long term, you will realize that the bribe wasn't really worth it. As mentioned earlier, since companies are doing strict background checks on employees, you might be one of those whose job is eliminated because the person who took the bribe got you the job by putting in false information in your job application.Do not take irrelevant training
There are countless training institutes, especially IT institutes, that are promising the world but deliver very little. It is troubling to see engineering graduates incorrectly believing more in a month or two of IT training than their four years of engineering education. If you do want to take training, it should be in subjects that will enhance your skills and not in subjects that are vastly different from your education.
Our experience in the HR area working with various companies and counseling many students has given us some insights that we have shared with you. These should help you in making your job search a fruitful one. We wish you the best and if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at vizagATadecco.co.in.
