Research is key
Finding the job that best suits your personality and your lifestyle is never easy. It’s actually a full time job in and of itself.
To better understand your needs and increase the chance of succeeding in your chosen field, you will need to conduct a personal evaluation by asking a few pertinent questions about a particular job, as well as the company offering it:
- Is this the career I want?
- Is there room for growth?
- Is the salary reasonable or even acceptable?
- Is there an appropriate level of benefits?
It is important to understand the difficulty in evaluating a position in the absence of reasonably good research. According to a recent survey, graduate degree holders in the U.S. earn an average of 35 to 50 percent more than bachelor’s degree holders.
This could explain the increased number of students who are pursuing their Masters. Of course, there might also be an offer or two for individuals without Masters, but they would have to make a concrete decision to ensure they obtain the right type of job and situation in today’s job market.
Know what you want
Knowing what kind of personality you have and having a solid grasp of what your interests are will give you an idea of how you would like to spend your day on a job. The activities you’d like to get involved with plays an important role in keeping you motivated. Of course you could also make a list of the types of people you would like to be working with.
For example, people who like being told what to do, authoritative types, loud people as opposed to quiet types, etc. And would you like to be in a place where people love socializing or not? There are different sizes of companies as well; there are small, medium, large, overseas, local, and regional companies you might have to choose from.
The Internet is a valuable tool that assists online job seekers in looking for a job they could fit in. Trim down the choices depending on your needs and wants to get the more possible pool of companies you can try submitting resumes.
Technique table
Below are a number of common job search techniques which may be of some help to you.
| Percentage of Job hunters | Search Technique | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|
| 66.0% | Direct application | 47.71% |
| 50.8 | Referral from friends’ work | 22.1 |
| 41.8 | Asking friends from other places | 11.9 |
| 28.4 | Asking family about the company they work for | 19.3 |
| 27.3 | Asking relatives about jobs from other places | 7.4 |
| 45.9 | Newspaper posts | 23.9 |
| 21.0 | Career centers | 24.2 |
| 12.5 | School organizations/clubs | 21.4 |
| 15.3 | Civil Service Exams | 12.5 |
| 10.4 | Referrals from mentors | 12.1 |
| 1.6 | Local ads | 12.9 |
| 6.0 | Cooperative programs | 22.2 |
Make it work!
*Percentage results obtained from dividing the technique by the total number of job hunters who tried to use the method, successful or not.
Your major strengths and weaknesses will help indicate how well you will perform in the work you have chosen. Your progress dictates your maturity and enthusiasm at work. Finding the best job for you is a full time job itself. It requires time and passion to get positive results. No matter what you choose, it should always be a place where you can identify yourself and remain happy.