Developing a Proper Mindset
Welcome to the first part of the “Job Hunt” series. We will learn about developing a proper mindset, personal branding, resume writing, cover letter writing and personal presentation. Let’s get on it!
It all starts with them
When reading a job ad, writing a resume, or preparing for an interview constantly ask yourself: “What can I do for the company?” or “How can I help them in their situation?” The reason for asking these questions is quite simple – companies usually hire staff either to solve a problem or to use a recently found opportunity. They don’t want to read long lists of your previous responsibilities no matter how glamorous they are. They don’t care about the nice objective you have put into the first line of the resume either. They just care about solving a problem.
Fortunately, you can help them. I am assuming upfront that you have the right skill set and enough of motivation to do it. If not, make use of the time you have left in college or at home to develop the necessary competencies. It will pay off.
The great war
Make no mistake, there is a war going on between you and your fellow candidates. The weapons of choice are word of mouth, cover letters, resumes and interviewing skills. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate that you are simply better than competitors.
Think of the hiring process as a sales pitch. You are the product, and you have to sell yourself somehow. In order to do that, the best thing is to differentiate from the competition and give the employer more reasons to employ you. Create a unique selling proposition, and weave it into every single material and action you will take to get your ideal job. All the written, spoken as well as non-verbal presentation must reflect your USP.
The process
Creating an efficient presentation of self does not come along just so. There is a system to all of this, don’t worry. We could start from the materials that require a substantial amount of preparation and then move on to soft skills. However, training soft skills and behavior using this blog as a medium is rather difficult and horribly inefficient. Thus, we will keep that out of the picture. In the end, the series is going to contain articles on the following topics.
- Developing your personal brand
- Writing a resume
- Writing a cover letter
All will be supplemented with my first-hand experience and thought processes. In effort to keep things short and simple, I will cut up the topics into shorter post, so you don’t feel lost in them (unlike this one.)
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