"The Job Seeker's Guide"OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Fact of life - if you can't measure it you can't manage it.It matters not from which position you look at the task in hand. The two extremes are the end result, the winning of an offer of employment, or where you are now, starting out on the trail that will lead you to that all elusive objective.
From now on what you do requires management.
To effectively manage you need to measure what you have achieved against what you set out to do. To measure anything you need a point to measure from and a point to measure to, plus something to measure with. It's downhill from then on. You simply analyse what happens between the two points.
What you will need to measure is your degree of effectiveness, of how well you have performed the tasks. This will provide you with an information base on which to decide your next course of action.
You are more likely to meet "a system", a recruitment system born of tradition and in all probability, totally ineffective. The first person you encounter will usually not have the authority to order the paperclips let alone appoint anyone to a job, You are in front of, or on the 'phone to, someone who is under instructions to sift out the chaff, as they call it, and prepare a list of likely candidates for someone higher up in the company to interview later.
You are there to make a judgement as to how the company operates and to define the path you have to tread to get in front of the person who makes the recruiting decision.
To record the steps along the way to that glorious objective requires that you beg borrow, or if you have to, purchase a few simple tools.
You need an 8 x 5 ins. record card box. I prefer lined cards because I can't write straight on plain ones. Buy a pack at a time, they come in 100's. You also need a set of index cards, tabbed in sets of 1 to 31 for days in the month. Effectively you have only 20 working days per month but you need 31 index cards for action that may be required to be done at weekends.
The objective is to record the progress of each potential job opportunity then file the record card in such a way that it turns up when the next action is required. Use the set of 1 to 31 tabbed index cards to separate your prospective employer records with today's date at the front.
Each morning, or the night before, take today's index card and place it at the back of your record card box. You then deal with the new day's cards that are now at the front of the box.
When the appropriate action has been taken you record the activity and place the card in your record box at the day of the month you next need to take action.
As you progress by adding records to your card box you will remove any cards that are now of no value.
and a few directions as to where it is, plus the names of any contacts in the company and who's decision it is as to who is offered the job. Record the source of information: the person, newspaper or magazine plus a brief description of the job. Make a note of the path the prospective employer will take before an offer of a job is made.
For example:
Smith is local manager. Bloggs has the final say and will be in on final interview. Smith said Bloggs will rubber stamp candidate chosen by him.
Company WILL take up references and a medical is mandatory.
All the above will easily fit on the front of an 8x5 ins. leaving the back clear to record the progress. After a few weeks the card may read something like this:
Now you must compose a number of standard letters suitable for certain situations. Letters are a pain, and a time consuming pain into the bargain, but they have to be sent. If you don't, and you don't get to final interview you will say to yourself, ' I wonder if I would have got on to the short list if I had sent the after first interview, follow up letter?' Frankly, you have enough to wonder about. You cannot afford to waste time on pointless tasks. It makes no difference now; the opportunity is past.
Do not create diversions for your train of thought to travel, for given half a chance it surely will. If you send the letters out as and when you should, you will not be diverted or time and mental energy on what might have been.
The point is to progress each prospective job along a pre-determined path. To cut corners is an act of self delusion. Whenever you are tempted to do it ask yourself the question:
Review Of Opperations
What you will need to measure is your degree of effectiveness, of how well you have performed the tasks. This will provide you with an information base on which to decide your next course of action.
The more accurate your analysis, the more reliable the information on which you must base that course of action.
Look at the task as a series of stages; call them milestones if you like or hurdles that you need to get over on your journey to the job offer. These may be few or many. There may be so many that you conclude you are chasing rainbows and start to ask yourself if there really is a job at the end of the trail. Do not despair; it's all part of the procrastination you will find wherever your job hunt leads you.It's part of the system and there's nothing you can do about it.
You may meet the self made man type of employer who tells you his life story and the progress of business and then says something like "start Monday 8.00 o'clock sharp and don't be late". Oh yes they do exist, but don't hold your breath. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than finding one.You are more likely to meet "a system", a recruitment system born of tradition and in all probability, totally ineffective. The first person you encounter will usually not have the authority to order the paperclips let alone appoint anyone to a job, You are in front of, or on the 'phone to, someone who is under instructions to sift out the chaff, as they call it, and prepare a list of likely candidates for someone higher up in the company to interview later.
Whatever the situation is you need to record it.
You may not be able, when you are operating in the field, to find a suitable environment where you can accurately analyse the position and decide what to do next. So what can you do about it - do it when you get home? Does it matter?Whatever you encounter you need to comprehensively record it.
Warning!!! Do not allow your mind to project into areas of a company's day to day activities. This is a waste of your mental resources.
You are not King Arthur or one of the Knights of St. John and are not embarked upon a crusade to change the world. Nor are you out to change the operating procedures of the company you are evaluating as a prospective employer. Making changes comes later. When you are employed.You are there to make a judgement as to how the company operates and to define the path you have to tread to get in front of the person who makes the recruiting decision.
To record the steps along the way to that glorious objective requires that you beg borrow, or if you have to, purchase a few simple tools.
You need an 8 x 5 ins. record card box. I prefer lined cards because I can't write straight on plain ones. Buy a pack at a time, they come in 100's. You also need a set of index cards, tabbed in sets of 1 to 31 for days in the month. Effectively you have only 20 working days per month but you need 31 index cards for action that may be required to be done at weekends.
The objective is to record the progress of each potential job opportunity then file the record card in such a way that it turns up when the next action is required. Use the set of 1 to 31 tabbed index cards to separate your prospective employer records with today's date at the front.
Each morning, or the night before, take today's index card and place it at the back of your record card box. You then deal with the new day's cards that are now at the front of the box.
When the appropriate action has been taken you record the activity and place the card in your record box at the day of the month you next need to take action.
As you progress by adding records to your card box you will remove any cards that are now of no value.
DO NOT dispose of them, you never know when they may be required.
The information you need on the front of the card is as follows:- Company Name
- Address
- Town
- Post Code
- Telephone Number
- Fax Number
and a few directions as to where it is, plus the names of any contacts in the company and who's decision it is as to who is offered the job. Record the source of information: the person, newspaper or magazine plus a brief description of the job. Make a note of the path the prospective employer will take before an offer of a job is made.
For example:
Smith is local manager. Bloggs has the final say and will be in on final interview. Smith said Bloggs will rubber stamp candidate chosen by him.
Company WILL take up references and a medical is mandatory.
All the above will easily fit on the front of an 8x5 ins. leaving the back clear to record the progress. After a few weeks the card may read something like this:
- 3 Jan Telephoned for application form
- 7 Jan Application form received.
- 9 Jan Application form returned with cover letter.
- 11 Jan Letter with app. form received. Interview to be advised. .
- 19 Jan Phone out. When interview. Told approx. 3 weeks time. .
- 28 Jan INTERVIEW 16th Feb. 2.30. Preston office. .
- 28 Jan Letter out. Confirmed interview. Phone for directions on 11 Feb. .
- 11 Feb Phone out. Directions request. Tried for info on number being interviewed. No joy. . .
- 16 Feb 12 for job. Seen 9th. Great meeting, send follow up letter. .
- 17 Feb Letter out. Said like job. Re-stated had done similar work. .
Now you must compose a number of standard letters suitable for certain situations. Letters are a pain, and a time consuming pain into the bargain, but they have to be sent. If you don't, and you don't get to final interview you will say to yourself, ' I wonder if I would have got on to the short list if I had sent the after first interview, follow up letter?' Frankly, you have enough to wonder about. You cannot afford to waste time on pointless tasks. It makes no difference now; the opportunity is past.
Do not create diversions for your train of thought to travel, for given half a chance it surely will. If you send the letters out as and when you should, you will not be diverted or time and mental energy on what might have been.
The point is to progress each prospective job along a pre-determined path. To cut corners is an act of self delusion. Whenever you are tempted to do it ask yourself the question:
If I decide not to send this letter, not to make this 'phone call, not to complete and return this application form, (application forms are often the most boring documents you will ever have the misfortune to work on) will I have reached my decision by a rational analysis of the situation, because there is a film on the box, because I'm ready to commit murder for a pint at the local or for some other reason.
It's your decision, your job hunt and you have only to answer to yourself.Review Of Opperations