Shh… If you tell anyone, it might ruin the secret, but there are a number of traits that most successful job searchers — who become successful employees — have in common. If you incorporate these secrets into your own job search, you might become an employee too!
1. Don’t sit around waiting.
Believe it or not, this is one of the biggest mistakes many job searchers make. They sit around, expecting a job to somehow magically appear. With the exception of the rich and famous, this isn’t going to happen. Persistence and action will lead to results, but if you give up, employers will never know that they passed up a great potential hire.
2. Be consistent.
Among those who have realized that they have to be active in the job search, there are a great many people who succumb to the “spurt” approach. This means they might search for a job for twenty hours one week and then give up for another two weeks before making another attempt to get out and find a job. Unsurprisingly, this works little better than sitting around and waiting. Putting a little effort (even just half an hour) into your job search every single day is much more likely to pay off.
3. Use multiple methods.
The internet is a great way to find jobs, but there are other options, too. Don’t forget to check your local paper’s job listing classified section, look through the phone book to find potential employers and send your resume in, ask friends and family about possible job openings (this is networking at its best), cold-call, and utilize internet search engines. The more ways you try to look for a job, the more likely you’ll stumble on a listing — and a job — that you never would have found any other way.
4. Present a knockout image.
When you get an interview, don’t dress in frumpy, wrinkled, or shocking clothing. Present a businesslike, professional image and you will be respected and remembered. Dyed hair (in general), excessive jewelry unusual piercings, too-tight or -loose clothing, flashing too much skin… all these show a lack of experience, preparation, or simply not caring about the job. None of these are images you want to convey, so think carefully about how the way you are presenting yourself will make you look to a potential employer.
5. Be direct and polite in an interview.
Once you’re finally in the interview, it’s your chance to knock the interviewer out (not literally). If you present yourself as a competent, sincere potential employee with real experience and a willingness to listen and learn, you’ll come out ahead of a surprising number of interviewees. Don’t take a long time to answer questions; instead, try to come up with succinct responses while remaining polite. Rambling will not help your cause! Make eye contact and smile, and don’t give signals that you’re nervous, but don’t be overconfident, either.
If you follow these five rules, you can’t go wrong!