For most people, job finding is no fun. If it were, you would probably be doing it more often and with greater enthusiasm. It’s especially no fun if you’ve just lost your job and are forced to go out and find a new job. Since peoples’ identity is closely aligned with their work and job, being without a job can be very demoralizing and lonely. Your whole sense of self-worth becomes tied up with what you do for a living; all of a sudden you may feel like a nobody since nobody seems to be interested in you.
When you go job hunting, you have to explain to strangers that you really are somebody who is worth a lot more than they may think you are worth. More often than not, you must first explain on paper - in the form of a CV and cover letter - why you should be interviewed for a job.
So what do you do? If you are like most people, you’ve learned how to do a job but have not learned how to find a job. Unfortunately, most people go about the job finding process by doing last things first.
They literally start by writing a CV and then send it, along with a cover letter, to companies. When asked what they first need to do in order to find a new job, the typical answer is to first write their CV. When asked how they plan to write their CV, they usually say they will summarize their work history and education since that’s what goes on most CVs.
In fact many job seekers repeat the same mistakes, their CVs are often organized in the same format; names of employers, inclusive of employment dates, a summary of duties and responsibilities, educational background, and personal information. When sending their CV to prospective employers, they then preface their CV with a short cover letter indicating that their CV is enclosed for the employer’s consideration.
So what is wrong with this?
The quality of their CVs and letters leave a lot to be desired because they are based on doing last things first. By writing a CV that merely reflects their work history, education, and personal information, they create an obituary. Their correspondence is usually dead upon arrival.
Such a CV as well as the accompanying cover letter, tells the employer nothing about the individual’s goals and accomplishments. Focusing on the individual’s past work history, the writing exercise reveals nothing about what the individual can do for the employer.
Indeed, most such CVs and letters paint a picture of an individual who really doesn’t know what they want to do, can do, and will do for the employer. Not surprisingly, few employers are interested in interviewing individuals who communicate their qualifications so poorly.
If you subscribe to the philosophy that you should find a job that fits well with your particular mix of interests, skills, and abilities - one you do well and really enjoy doing - then you must do first things first, which is not writing a CV and cover letter.
This is about your “fitness”: you should find a job that is a good “fit” for both you and the employer. And the very first thing you should do is assess your strengths - those things you do well and enjoy doing.
Individuals who organize their job search by doing first things first tend to present a clear and desirable picture to employers: they have goals; they have a record of accomplishments; their pattern of performance is predictable; they bring value and they are a perfect “fit” for the position.
So why write the 5 pages, detailed, rambling job descriptions, noting every activity and every course attended, accompanied by certificates of attendance? Do you think that all of this information will be read? Of course not!
Remember that individuals who do first things first and present their qualifications accordingly are highly sought after by employers who know exactly what they will get if they employ them.
Best of all, such individuals find jobs that are extremely rewarding both personally and professionally.
(Based in Dubai, David Thatcher, [email protected], is managing director of career management firm Bernard Haldane Associates in the Middle East.)