Finding a job in today’s job market can sometimes be challenging and difficult due to the pandemic we are going through. We are also in a big recession too which makes finding a job even harder. It really doesn’t matter about the state of the economy when searching for a job but rather about avoiding some of the more common job hunting mistakes in order to make you a more desirable candidate for the job opening you want.
Here are some of the top mistakes that job hunters and new college grads make when they begin to look for their new job.
#1 Be prepared
It is important to make every decision, phone call, letter writing or looking a priority in your day. In other words, you must take action. Avoid thinking about what you want to do or complaining about roadblocks to your progress but instead make your list and check them off.
#2 Be committed to the job search
Enjoy your family time. Spend time with your loved ones, eat well and exercise regularly. Be committed to the job search. When you don’t take adequate time to prepare or to search you are leaving job openings for others who are more committed and diligent.
#3 Each job advertising, different career documents!
Empathize with your employer’s perspective. In other words your future employer has specific needs, time frames and problems that may or may not be compatible with your time frames. Understand that, for the employer, their needs come first.
#4 Research the company
Anticipate and practice for your interview. In fact just doing the research for an interview with your company will increase your chances of achieving success and landing the job. You must be able to relate your abilities to the needs of the company and formulate a strategy for success in the interview. In other words, prepare, prepare, prepare.
#5 Follow up your application
Follow-Up! One of the biggest mistakes that new job hunters make is to not follow with their prospective employer. Send a thank you letter within 24 hours after the interview, even when you believe you will not be asked to fill the position. You can make a name for yourself in what may be a small, closely knit profession or you may make enough of an impression that you are asked back to fill a position later.
#6 Don’t waste your time with the job you can’t get
Do not apply for a position that you are obviously not qualified to fill. You are wasting the time of the human resources office and the hiring manager and may again be making a poor impression within your profession.
#7 Take it seriously
Be professional in your address when you attend an interview. This includes not only yourself personally but any correspondence or CV which you send ahead of the interview. You have to be serious about you doing. Every job application is a different story.
#8 Think professional when creating an email address
Have a professional sounding email address. Many employers today will correspond with you via email. If your e-mail address is cutesy and designed to attract the attention of the opposite sex you are definitely making the wrong impression on your future employers. Instead, get a Gmail account and make it firstname.lastname@ gmail.com
#9 Be ready and organised
Organize, organize, organize. You can never be too organized. You will lose points quickly when the human resources manager or hiring manager calls you at home to nail down a few more points and you are totally confused with whom you are talking. It is good practice to keep a log, notes of interviews, material that you have sense to prospective employers and any customization that was done for each interview.
#10 Taking rejections personally
Unfortunately we don’t get an offer every time we apply for a job. It’s very rare in fact. It’s best to expect and accept the rejection as a part of your job application.
Try to learn from your failures. Ask feedback from the employers on what is lacking with your application.
By avoiding these common job hunting mistakes you significantly increase your chances of being asked back for a second interview or being offered the position. Your attention to detail will be noticed by your prospective employer and the individuals who interview you.
Julie Green is the Marketing Manager of Interview Area. She is a highly qualified professional Recruiter and Marketing Manager who has overseen the development of the company’s Marketing and Social Management department since 2017.
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