The Best Company To Apply At And Actually Get A Job!
Hello to those visiting from Michael Hyatt's blog or are new, welcome! Don't miss out on what Tales of Work has to offer:
Stay connected and get an inspirational manifesto!
Last week I saw a friend that I hadn't seen in a while, we talked a little bit and caught up on where we both were at in our lives. Right away I noticed he was working for a different company, it was the third company he has been at in the last three years. He told me how he wasn't happy at the company he was at now, he thought it would end up being better pay but it was actually less money than his lowest paying job.
He went on to tell me that he had applied at "a bunch of companies" but hadn't even gotten a call back. He would take the initiative and call these companies and ask about his application just to be told it's "on file" and they'll call if they're interested. You know what happens, right? He has filled out twenty applications just to get no calls back or interviews.
I asked him how he was finding these jobs and got a typical response: the internet, classifieds and the newspaper. Sadly thousands of people do things the very same way and get the very same results, if you haven't figured it out already, this way of getting a job doesn't work anymore.
Let's think about this logically, when a company advertises that they are hiring, how many people do you think will apply? A Costco wholesale club opened up in our area a while back, they were hiring about 300 people, more than 4,000 people applied for a job. In that circumstance, what do you think your odds are of getting a job? You're right, not very good!
Logic will tell you that companies that advertise for a job get thousand of applications everyday, how in the world would they pick yours out of the pile? Do you think they're going to notice a little stain on your application or resume, pick it up and say "hey, that's the person we want to hire, call him right now!" This isn't a movie and your odds of it working out that way are very low.
So how can you get a job, what company should you apply at?
First, don't apply at any company that is advertising a job, I've covered this enough, right? Next, don't just go after the companies that "pay well" while you may make great money, the job might not be the right fit for you and you could be miserable for the next five years.
Figure out what you like in a job and what will fit best with your personality and personality. Then look at companies in your area that meet that criteria, your hope is that they're not advertising for job openings. There are three ways to give yourself the best chance to get a good job that you'll actually enjoy:
Apply or send your resume to companies that aren't hiring. Doing this will greatly decrease your competition, remember that most people only apply at jobs that they think are hiring. In this job market companies can be picky, so you want the best chance you can get, so apply when no one else will be, when they're not advertising positions. If they're not advertising why would they hire me? If you have thought things out well, and done some research on those companies that are a good fit, you'll be applying at companies that would be glad to have your skills added to their company. These days companies want experience and people who will benefit their bottom line. By doing research on yourself and figuring out what companies fit 'you", the benefits of them hiring you far out way not hiring you.
Be specific with companies as to why they want to hire you. Don't be lazy and expect to get a job in this economy, you have to be better than everyone else. Do the research about those companies that interest you and that you think will make a good fit for you. You have to stand out, so figure out how you can help those companies. If you are applying at a landscape company figure out what area they operate in and go and pick up a new client for them. Send them a letter saying that you think you'd be a good fit there and to prove it, you have a new client for them. If you were to do this, do you really believe they won't hire you? Using google to find out a little information and using that information the right way will get you that job that you really want.
Network anyway you can. One of the best ways to get a job is to be recommended by someone who is already at that job. When you're thinking about buying something and you ask a friend about that thing and they recommend it, you buy it don't you? It works the same way with jobs, if employers are looking at your application and someone else's and you're recommended by someone who works there, who is he more likely to trust? He has no real clue and that recommendation is what you need to push you into that job. It doesn't have to be a friend, it could be a friend of a friend, there just has to be some kind of connection. Networking is one of the primary ways people get hired these days, there's just too many people applying, you need that recommendation to make you stand out.
This is the advice I gave my friend and I hope he uses it, you're not guaranteed to get a job but you significantly help your chances by using these principles. It starts with figuring out the right work situation for you, so if you're out of work, get on that today.
When you've figured that out, make yourself stand out. I read a story not to long ago about a guy who sent his resume to HR managers on coffee bags. Every time they wanted coffee, they say his resume, he got a job within one week and it was the job he always wanted. Now that's a great way to stand out from everyone else.
How will you stand out? Do you think you could use these principles to find a great job? What advice do you have for us? Let us know any suggestions you have in the comments:
