People often ask me, “Where can I find a job?” Actually, “Where can I find a job at a great company?” is more accurate. So in a desire to answer it, I decided to Google the question. Funny thing? The top two searches are “Where could I find a job?” and “Were can I find a job.”
Now, I ain’t no English major, but I’m pretty sure I can see the problems in these searches. Bad grammar aside, I wanted to be able to provide a few answers to what I think is the most important aspect of finding a job. First, let me say this: If all you want are some Benjamins in your pocket, then feel free to put in applications at any business you can find.
But I believe the folks reading this post want a little more than just a J-O-B. Hopefully, you want to find a place where you can get paid well, get rewarded for doing a great job, and go home at the end of the day happy and ready to return the following business day. If so, here are a few things I think you should do first.
- How strong are you? No, this isn’t a physical question. What everyone should first discover is their strengths. In Why You Must Discover Your Strengths, I interviewed Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0. One of the shocking statistics he shares is that two-thirds of people do not feel they are doing their best work each day. So why do they keep doing it? Take the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test and see where you’re strong.
- What are you passionate about? So many of us throw ourselves at any position available, simply so we get paid. The problem is that we end up working somewhere we don’t like, and we aren’t passionate about it. I have nothing to back this up. But I believe if you don’t love what you do 60% of the time, you’ll hate it 100% of the time. Career Coach Dan Miller has an excellent way for you to discover your passions at 48Days.com
- How do you communicate? It is vitally important to know your personality style. I am heavy into using the DISC profile system because it’s easy and it completely reads you in 25 questions. Once you understand your profile, you can begin to know how you give and receive information. This is crazy important when it comes to winning with people. Read The Missing Link To Your Communication for more on that.
- What culture are you from? Champions want to work in a place they fit in nicely. There’s nothing worse than landing a job and finding out later that it’s full of petty backstabbing and gossip. When in an interview, ask questions about how they handle situations to see if it’s the kind of place where you want to work.
With this information it is my belief that you now have a road map to the kind of place you will fit in at and thrive. Being successful in business is only part of the equation. As you get older, you discover that loving what you do it just as important. Detail all of your results and include them with your resume at your next interview. Don’t be surprised if the interviewer has to pick their jaw up off of their desk.
Question: What tips do you have for someone looking to find a job?
