My job search was not as easy as I had initially thought. I was interested in jobs in finance and investment. Using the keywords finance and investment, I found many jobs but only a few of the jobs interested me. At first, it was difficult for me to make various tradeoffs say for instance between a high salary and job that would force me to relocate. To overcome this challenge, I classified all the factors that I was considering in a job into two i.e. I came up with a want list and a wish list. In the want list I listed the factors that I was not willing to compromise, these included: (i) the job had to be interesting (ii) the job must not be more than 200 miles from my home (I did not want to relocate), (iii) the job must have room for growth, and (iv) the company must believe in work-life balance.
On my wish list, I put all the things that I would prefer in a job these included: (i) the position holder would be reporting to a higher authority such as the CEO, General Manager or regional manager (ii) the company participated actively in social activities, and (iii) the company was an industry leader. Having a want list and a wish list helped me to make various tradeoffs and select jobs that I felt were a good fit. I then realized that from the many jobs that I had found from the job search only a handful met my criteria of a good job.
Next step was to build a resume for the various positions. I learned that a great resume is one that is tailor-made for a particular job. I learned that a resume is my sales pitch to a targeted potential employer. Just as an advertisement targets a particular audience, a resume targets a specific employer (Money Instructor, 2016). Therefore, I made a different resume for every job that I was interested in. However, every resume listed my skills, achievements, education, and employment history listed in reverse chronology. In addition, I made a cover letter for each resume. A cover letter was meant to introduce me to potential employers. I made sure that the cover letter was brief and interesting to give a positive first impression to potential employers (Money Instructor, 2016). I did not want to fail to get shortlisted over a poorly structured cover letter.
After sending the applications, I asked my elder brother to help me with a mock interview. When he asked me questions about the organizations, I realized that I had not done enough research on the potential employers. He advised me that if I am to impress the interviewers I should have some basic understanding of the organization such as the organization mission, its history, and any value statements (Skills You Need, 2016). The next question he asked me was “Tell us about yourself?” my brother told me that I performed well in that section because I was able to link how my attributes fit the job’s person specifications (Skills You Need, 2016). My brother also asked whether I had prepared to take any test or do presentations. Most of the jobs I had applied for required that I demonstrate advanced excel and financial modeling skills. I decided to prepare a few financial models using excel that I could show to the interviewers just in case the interviewers demand that I prove my financial modeling skills.
Overall, the experience was a revelation to some of the mistakes that I would have done in a real job search. When searching for a job I will one, have a want list and a wish list, this will make it easy for me to filter jobs that would interest me. Two, I will prepare a resume and an interesting cover letter that is tailored to each job that I apply. Three, when I am called for an interview I will research about the organization, and prepare some presentations just in case the interviewers demand to see my abilities.
References
Money Instructor,. (2016). Resume Writing Lesson Plans, Cover Letters, Teaching Lessons,
Worksheets. Moneyinstructor.com. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from https://www.moneyinstructor.com/resumes.asp
Skills You Need,. (2016). Interview Skills | SkillsYouNeed. Skillsyouneed.com. Retrieved 7
