Things to do for a Job Seeker

According to a Hay Group Study of 2013, one in four employees in the organised sector in India is set to switch jobs, the highest attrition rate globally. In the same study, the expected employee turnover in India for 2013 was 26.9%. Gallup’s recent employee engagement report (2014)  says worldwide only 13% employees are engaged at work. In fact, for India, only 9% are engaged and as high as 31% are actively disengaged. These are all researched statistics; what it simply means for you and me is that there are a plethora of job seekers in the market. And if you are one of them, then reading this might help. My experience with interacting with job seekers has helped me prepare a list of things which they should keep in mind but they don’t. And hence, before you prepare yourself for the umpteen rounds of selection for a prospective employer, think about this.

• They need you as much as you need them. It is not a one-way street. It is a give and take-this whole selection process. Do not forget the fact that the employer needs a capable person to run the listed responsibilities for the job as much as you need your employer. And hence, when you go for the interviews, do not be on a back-foot. The fact that your resume was short-listed and you have been called for an interview means that your technical skills and experience matches the job requirements. And hence be a confident person in the interview rounds. Sometimes our need to get a job offer is so much that we tend to give-in completely to the interviewer’s questions. We agree to points, which should have otherwise been debated. We accept weird working hours, which is not possible to implement. We agree to accept job responsibilities which we know we can’t do. By doing all of this, we are just adding to our troubles. Don’t just accept things-demand and push back. If they want to hire you, they would, despite your conditions. Haven’t we all heard of hefty joining bonuses being given, or one month leave being given just after joining or work timings be adjusted for particular candidates? That’s because they demanded it, and they got it, in lieu of some things that they accepted to do for the employer.

• It’s not only about the offer: Think long-term about this interview. You are choosing how your professional life for the next few years. And hence face the interview by being at the same pedestal as the interviewer. Organizations invest a lot in ensuring they hire the right candidates. How many times do we do our due diligence about the organizations we are about to join? Explore and seek answers about the company culture, the challenges of the role, the working hours, leave policy etc. Try and get some feedback from the market on your immediate supervisor too. The structures of our interviews are such that the job seeker gets only the last few minutes to ask a question. Many of the candidates don’t even ask any question when prompted by the interviewer. Use that opportunity and understand whether you would be happy working in this kind of place or not. And don’t worry; if you are a candidate they want to hire, they would be happy answering your queries. One of my friends demanded to see her work-station before accepting the offer-and she was allowed!

• Feedback is for that role: Often, on being rejected for a role, we try to seek feedback. What is it that didn’t work well in our favour? You came across as aggressive. You were too polite. You pushed back way too much. The thing with these feedbacks is that it needs to be taken in the context in which they are given. In no way, should you try to change your personality to adapt to this feedback. I was rejected in the last interview because I was smiling too much, this time I won’t smile. And chances are you could get rejected this time too, because you weren’t smiling and hence didn’t come across as a pleasing personality. Every role needs specific characteristics from a role holder; you can’t be adjusting yourself to suit to every requirement. You are what you are and your probability of your future work success is much higher if you get a role which matches with your personality type. So just be natural. Use the feedback judiciously and not as a dictat.

The underlying point is that you are an equal in this selection process. As much as it matters to the employer about whom they are hiring, it should matter to you too. Getting an offer, hating the work environment from the first month itself and again starting a job search is a agonizing process. And hence, these are some of the things which could do to get a stable job in a work environment that suits your working style. Getting a dream job is a not so difficult. It just takes a lot of preparation and a plan. I had also written about how to make your job search more effective and you could read about it here. Wishing you the best of luck in your job search!