Tuesday 19 February 2013

How to get a job

Steps to getting a job:

1. Find an industry where you would be passionate about the work.
2. Figure out what skills employers are looking for.
3. Get those skills. If that means formal education, do that, but self-education is just as valid.
4. Sell yourself to employers by referencing those skills.

If you find that you can't get the necessary skills, or there are no employers and you can't go freelance, you might need to look for a different industry. This plan actually works just the same for creative industries, but the competition is higher and the entry-level pay grades suck.

The trouble with the usual approach is that it's trying to optimise the usual steps of the process:

1. Resume and cover letter.
2. Interview.
3. Job offer.

Having a clear, eye-catching resume is no help if you don't have something to put on it (ie marketable skills). Being great at interviews is no help if you don't have the right skills to sell. Negotiating a job offer just won't happen if employers don't see the right skills in you. It all comes down to step 3 up there: get yourself some marketable skills.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - The only other plan I've seen work is to be born into a rich family (99th percentile) and get handed a large corporation for free.
PPS - Most people have trouble with that first bit. It's hard to arrange.

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