Chicken Soup for Job Seekers

By: Madhurima Sil

Do you want to change your job but don't know the right way to go about it? Are you vacillating between waiting for your dream job or accepting the first one that comes your way? Or are you a fresher falling in line with what your parents wish you to be rather than what you wish to be? If this is the kind of situation you find yourself in, then the next few minutes will help you get a clearer picture. Here is our bowl of chicken soup for the job seeker's soul. Read on.

Searching for a job today is almost a job in itself because you are spending so much of your time and effort on it. Enthusiasm, excitement, anxiety, frustration and depression-all these are phases one encounters during a job search. The key point is to take this phase positively and persevere till you get that pot of gold at the end of your job search rainbow- your dream job. In today's cut-throat working environment, looking for a job is not just about working hard but about working Smart.

So to stay ahead of the herd, here are a few tips from the team of Naukri.com, India's No.1 Job portal,

1) Set your priorities right ­Don't take a decision by simply imitating your friends, batch mates or depending on word of mouth. Be aware of what is really important to you and what is not, because once your priorities are set, things will automatically start falling into their place.

2) Resume writing ­ Employers are busy people and they hardly spend more than 30-45 seconds on a resume when they have 500 more to scan through. They are not interested in your entire history as they just want to know what you are best at. So, make your resume to the point and clearly showcase your key skills. In fact some recruiters prefer only single page resumes.

Try out the Resume Services provided by our counselors at Naukri.com.

3) Self-marketing is the key ­ When you are applying for jobs you are actually selling yourself. So, sound confident, positive and persuasive during an interview, but DO NOT exaggerate about your accomplishments.

4) Knowledge of your field ­ It is very important to know your field thoroughly. Brush up your knowledge on the who's who of the field, current trends, the competition, the dos and the don'ts and so on. Keep yourself abreast with the latest developments by keeping your eyes and ears open.

5) Tools of Job search ­ You could begin your job search by scanning newspaper classifieds, talking to job consultants and logging on to premier job websites. Be regular in your search, spend ample time on it and follow-up with the companies where you have applied.

For an internet job search and for Jobs in India you can log on to http://www.naukri.com and check out the vacancies available in your field of specialization.

6) Networking ­ It pays to know people in high places. Or in a job seeker's world "people in the right place". Networking is an important tool that can help you immensely during the job search. Track friends or contacts in the organization you want to be in, talk to them, and they might be able to open new doors for your dream job.

7) Have patience ­ 'Patience is a virtue'. Being desperate and anxious does not help much, rather it may spoil your job search. If it's your first step towards your career then think before taking each step. Don't feel inferior just because you are a fresher, after all you will be spending time, energy and intelligence on the firm that will hire you. Don't forget the fact that other employees cannot match the energy level of a fresher.

If you are already working somewhere then don't leave the job just because you are not happy. You're marketable because you are already working with a firm and have added work experience and value to your resume. So, wait for a while.


About Naukri.com:

Naukri.com is an Indian career website that serves as an employment exchange forum for employers, placement agencies and job seekers. Started by Info Edge (India) Pvt. Ltd., Naukri.com went commercial in October 1997 and since then it has served more than 25000 companies for recruitments through its database.

The traffic growth on this website is 20-25 percent every quarter and it is today, the Number 1 Job Portal on traffic rank as per Alexa. So far it has a database of 4.5 million resumes and gets 8500-10000 registrations daily.

For more information log on to http://www.naukri.com

-By Madhurima Sil, Executive Marketing (Content), Naukri.com