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12 Steps To Employment Success
By Sid | August 12, 2008
by Aaron Boyce (author of Jobseeker No More - aaron@abworkshops.com)
1. Know Thyself. Before you put yourself out there looking for a job, know who you are first. What do you like to do versus what you do NOT like to do. If a genie came to you and gave you one employment wish, what would you be doing? Take an assessment test, if necessary, to determine this information. What do you want to do? “Anything” is not an option.
2. Know Your Value. Whether you have 20 years experience or none; a college degree or a GED; 2 hands and two legs or not; you have value to somebody. You are valuable to an employer. The keys to employment success is 1. find out what your value is and 2. promote this value. Suppose you want a job at Denny’s. They have two positions open; hostess (greeting and seating customers, handing out menus, talking up the specials) and janitor (making sure the place is clean and neat). Which of these two jobs are most valuable to the restaurant? The average person would say the hostess because “customer service” is important. I agree. However, isn’t customer service also making sure that the customer has a good, safe, and clean dining experience. In fact, before the customer sees the hostess they will form an opinion of the restaurant based on how it smells and looks. Therefore, the janitor is performing the most important job which incidentally is customer service. My point? Know what value you bring to the employer based upon their company needs. Which leads to number 3…
3. Know the Ultimate (and secondary) Goals of the Company. Every company, every organization, every nonprofit must have the same ultimate goal to survive. To Make Money. Without money coming in from somewhere, the company cannot pay its employees, keep the lights on, have computers, telephones, paper supplies, etc. Without money, the company cannot serve its customers well for long. They cannot meet their secondary goal which is to …protect and serve; feed the homeless; educate the children; design great fashion, etc. However, both goals are and should be important to the individual company. Therefore, these goals should be important to you as well. Know the goals of the company and then determine if you can help them reach those goals.
4. Know the Company Thoroughly. You need to know eight things about the company to maximize your success in working there. 1. The Company itself. How big is it? What do they do? How many employees? Are they listed in the SEC? 2. The Industry. What type of industry? Is it a thriving industry? Where does the company rank? 3. The Position. What will you be doing? What salary? What hours? Any overtime? 4. The Workplace. Where will you be working? What are the working conditions? 5. The People. Who are the owners? Who are the management? Who will you be working with? 6. The Community. Is the company respected by the community? Does the company respect the community? Does the company give back to the community? 7. The Technology. Does the company keep up with modernization? Can you grow as the company grows? Does the company make your job easier and more efficient with use of technology? 8. The News. What has the company done lately? When and how are they in the news? The more you know about a company, the greater your chance of getting the job you want.
5. Know Your Competition. What are the others doing who covet the same job as you? What have the successful candidates done to get their jobs? How can you be better than the average candidate?
6. Know How to Market. The successful candidate is not always the one with the most education or experience; it is the one who marketed themselves the best. Marketing is a major part of success. McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Ivory Soap all purveyors of effective and extensive marketing. Understand this the more people who know that you are seeking employment, the greater your chance of getting employed. The more people you tell, the more people who will know. This is no time to be shy. Word of mouth, resumes, cover letters, and thank you letters are all effective marketing tools. To be a bit different, try these: personal internet websites, business (employment) cards, billboards, television advertisements, and portfolios. Use your deal making skills to negotiate a price you can handle. Remember to barter if possible.
7. Know to Network. An important part of marketing, so important it has its own section. Get away from the personnel department and go to places that have people doing people things. Library, sports bar, club, church, entertainment event, etc. These people have conversations with other people about all kinds of things. In the midst of these conversations, business tends to get involved. Their business and their needs. Considering that many of these people just happen to be owners, managers, personnel managers, general managers, department managers, etc., your chance of getting them your information is extremely good, if you have left a good impression. Which would lead to number 8…
8. Know Stuff. Nobody wants to hire a dummy. Few people want to hire those that only know about their job and nothing else. Successful people are well-rounded people. When you are out there networking, you can’t be effective unless you can engage in meaningful conversations. During interviews, it would be difficult to be memorable unless you can speak effectively. To do this, you must know stuff. Magazines, the internet, newspapers, television, radio, other people are all great ways to get to know stuff. The more you know, the more you flow.
9. Know the Purpose of the Interview. The purpose of the interview is to do and say anything to hopefully get this all important person sitting at the other side of the table to (thank God) pick me over the millions of other applicants desiring to work for a minimum wage job with no benefits, right? Or is it simply a conversation between two business people talking about business (their business) and how you can help them reach their goals. Take the pressure away from yourself. Imagine that you have come across a person in need of assistance. You cross the street to help. Since you are a stranger, they will ask you questions before they decide to let you help them. You, in turn, ask them questions to determine if you are able to help them. When this is done, both you and the person needing help determine if this is possible. In this scenario, exactly when are you nervous? So, the primary purpose of the interview should not be to get the job (waaaay too stressful); instead make the primary purpose of the interview to be extracting information. In this case, whether you get the job or not, you have succeeded in reaching your goals.
10. Know How to interview. Don’t chew gum. Ask to sit. Dress for the interview, not for the position. Don’t bring a friend. Remember that the interview begins in the parking lot. Use your inside voice. Don’t get too friendly. Don’t tell too many jokes. Smile. Be warm. Share information. Tell stories that relate to the company.
11. Know the Rules of the Game. If the company has a dress code, know it and follow it. If the dress code conflicts with your personal statement, do not apply for that position. If the company stresses punctuality over creativity, then be a dullard who’s always on time. Not really, but you get the idea don’t you?
12. Accept Temporary Setbacks. It is okay to fail. Ask Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates. They have all failed at least once in their lives. A wise man once said “One who has never failed, has never tried.” Failure is a sign of movement, a sign of ambition. You can’t fail sitting home on the couch eating chocolate candy you reach that couch every time. But when you put yourself out there, you take a risk. However, that risk is minimized because you have gone out there correctly, using this twelve step program. Let me leave you with this last thing…
Success comes to those who journey past the obstacles, failures, and naysayers.
In his workshop, 12 Steps to Employment Success, Aaron Boyce brings to life all of the above topics. You can reach him at aaron@abworkshops.com, check him out at www.abworkshopsarethebest.com, or call him toll-free at 866-745-6966.
Topics: Job Interviews |
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