It's been a long time since I rock and rolled... - Led Zeppelin
Good grief, it has been a while since my last post. It's been a rocky year but you gotta roll with the punches.
I just want to share a framework I devised from what I have learned these past two years working for the career management services office of the Asian Institute of Management. This job allowed me to learn from my respected professors, business owners, managers, headhuters, and HR practitioners from different parts of the world - and not to mention counselling a diverse student body composed of experienced individuals from all over as well.
There are a number of takes on the job hunt cycle available online, but I feel I can add another framework that is captured in a 4-part process, namely the 4 R's: Reflection - Research - Reform - Recruitment.
( If you don't like it, well then, to echo Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam:
this is not for you.)
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| I'm from the nineties so I am more of an OHP guy than a PPT guy, so here's my diagram on the 4 R's |
Why is it a cycle? Well, frankly, your job hunt typically doesn't end after a rejected interview or after landing a job. This cycle can take place in long stretches of time or even almost immediately after a job interview.
Essentially, the first part of the cycle is
Reflection. This is when you look internally and ask yourself: what are my transferable skills? what motivates me? who am I carrying this bag of bricks for? am I in the right place?
I feel we owe it to ourselves and it's practically our responsibility to always be on the lookout for better opportunities to grab within our organization or outside. After failing an interview, do I automatically give up on my dream? (the answer: hell no).
Richard Bolle's
guide to job hunting is an excellent resource and you can grab a copy at almost any bookstore. He talks about your skills that are transferable across different functions or industries- you don't have to box yourself into thinking that what you currently do for one position is limited to only being done within that organization. Leadership, communication skills, adaptability - these are all competencies that are not restricted by job titles or companies.
You have to know what your skills are (I recently asked my students to take the
Bloomberg Assessment Test which is an excellent tool for those who want a career in finance) and find out where you are lacking.
You have to reflect and figure out for yourself what the next step is in your career. You have to align your capabilities, core values, your mission in life, your wants & needs, and your career objectives to be happy (and isn't that essentially what we are after - happiness?).
What will make you happy, you might ask? Well, job hunter, you then have to do your
Research: where and when do you take that next step?
You have to know more about the market and where you have a competitive advantage. Ask around - is it the right time to jump into a certain industry or to join a certain company?
Know more about the industry that interests you and the roles that you find intriguing. You might find out that in order to move careers, you can consider taking internships as a gateway or apply for management trainee programs (it could mean taking a considerable pay cut in the short term, but in the long run it can reap tremendous benefits especially if we are talking about self-fulfillment). If you find you are lacking in some areas of a desired career, then you go on to the next step which is:
Reform.
Our needs and wants, our situations, etc. will always change (ergo the overly used mantra that the only thing constant in this world is change), and as talents we have to constantly adjust in our pursuit of happiness.
Michael Jordan, well known for his aerial ability, re-entered the NBA after his first retirement without the same hops BUT learned to do the
best fade-away jumper in the history of basketball.
M. Night Shyamalayan, known for
suspense thrillers (I see dead people), learned (I hope) that he should stay away from
adaptations (I see sleeping people) .
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| But that doesn't mean I didn't reform over the years, so here's the same diagram in a more PPT friendly format |
Be it by adding skills through learning programs at work or taking further education (e.g. take an MBA at
AIM, it's awesome here), improving your communication skills , learning how to dress or present yourself properly
(try the courses of John Robert Powers), learning a new language, or getting physically fit, you have got to make change happen (yup, I Obama'd that one).
Here's another overly used quote but I love and believe in: "be the change you want to see in the world" (if you don't know who said that, then you are no fun).
The change has to be aligned with your goals and objectives which you should have covered in Reflection and Research. You also will probably need to learn how to tailor-fit your resumes to make them more targeted and to learn how to handle case interviews or job interviews in general.
Also, you definitely need to improve your personal network. For starters, go on LinkedIn. As a job hunter, you have to think like a hiring manager - more often than not, you would want to hire someone you are already familiar with. At AIM, I tell my students that they should use their internships as a break into the company and get more contacts whom they can approach for career advice.
You then enter the "battle" of
Recruitment. If you did a good job in the first three components of the cycle, then this should be a breeze. I've come across a lot of job hunters who only think of this phase of the cycle and end up getting frustrated. It isn't just about attending job fairs and taking interviews - you have to know what you're made of, what openings match you, what things you need to add to your utility belt, before you go for an interview.
I really feel that if you give a lot of thought and effort in addressing these areas, you'll be able to sift through job openings you find on
JobStreet,
Jobsdb or
Monster quicker and you would only apply for the ones that really matter to you. You'll know how to tackle the job opening with the right resume and the right approach during interviews. You'll know who to talk to in the organization because you improved your network.
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| Don't get lost in a sea of job hunters...
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Is job hunting as simple as that? At the end of the day, this all depends on you, dear reader.
Be ready to explore possibilities and be targeted in your job hunt, but more importantly, be brave enough to fail. Because dude, it's a cycle - so, rock and roll.
Alonto for the assist...
Khairy Alonto took his MBA at AIM and now works there. Follow him on Twitter @khairyalonto or view his profile on http://ph.linkedin.com/in/khairyalonto
(by the way, my team at the Career Management Services of the AIM W.SyCip Graduate School of Business helps out in addressing the needs of our students with regards to the job hunt cycle intricately. Shameless plug.)
There was a very interesting talk given by a guest speaker (sorry, I didn't get the name) and I liked how straight-forward her advice was (I'm sure her casual way of talking allowed the audience to grasp the concepts better). She spoke of how to dress for an interview, what are the benefits of putting on makeup for girls, how tucking in your shirt properly makes a difference, etc. I for one know I was properly groomed at that time - because applicants I would bump into kept asking me about what my company was and what were our available job openings. I just pointed them to go to the companies I was familiar with.
