A new job - Job hunting made easy

These are challenging times and many of you think about change and how to find a new opportunity. Some of you do this voluntarily and some are made redundant by their company and are actively looking for new shores to apply their talents. 

But before engaging in the application process it is necessary to do some self-reflection. Many people contact me and tell me that they are open for new challenges or simply looking for a job. Often these request come, without any further information not even a resume.

At this point I am confused because I am always on the lookout for good candidates, but without some information about the person it is difficult to have a meaningful discussion. Before engaging in a process of jobhunting you should ask yourself the following:

1.      What kind of job are you looking for? You should communicate it properly.

It has to be clear what you want and what you are looking for. Many people write me that they are looking or a new opportunity, but it seem that they expect me to figure out what that should be. If you are not clear about your objectives how would I be able to propose something. Would you propose an opportunity to somebody who cannot define their expectations. There is too much risk for me that in the end you get into a final round of talks and have second thought because you were not clear about your needs.

2.      What kind of company are you wanting to work for? Maybe you have specific examples?

Somebody who is open for any opportunities and cannot specify which type of company they would prefer have not done a preliminary reflection and engage in this process only during the exchange with potential employers. The candidate then unloads risk to the company and the recruiter.

3.      Are you willing to relocate for the new job or are you limited or wish to work in a certain region?

Think about it! Are you really willing to relocate for the job? You need to think about this upfront. Many people write me they would be flexible to relocate before engaging in any further conversations. People are not believable if they say they would go anywhere! For every recruiter this represents a risk. I come to this later in 5.

 4.      Work your application documents!

Your application documents should be in great condition. I get a lot of resumes and some are great to read other are really bad. This by the way has nothing to do with the senders qualification. The worst I got just yesterday: It was a link to a website and the link was broken. The person might have been the greatest candidate ever but I hit the delete button.

5.      Red Flag:

You should be aware and communicate the expectation and limits of your job hunting project. This gives me a clear picture on the boundaries with which I am working. For example: I had a candidate who was selected for a senior role in controlling. In the negotiation for the salary and benefits he was adamant that he needed an S- Class Mercedes as a company car. This was strictly against company policy, so the negotiation failed. If he had told me right up front that the S-Class is the deal breaker I could have saved my time. So be clear and honest on expectations, limitations and deal breakers.

If you want to know more how to do a proper application, we offer an online class on how to be the “golden egg”.

All online in 12 steps and you can go through on your own pace and get further extended help if you need

Contact me on [email protected]