Job seekers guide to reality and self help
Why is it, that so often, when things go wrong, you resort to self-pity; looking outside yourself for someone or something to blame.
You must somehow find a way to deflect any suggestion of personal responsibility, to excuse your own behaviour, or lack of it. It’s not your fault – of course it’s not. How could it be.
There you are, you feel better, but you’ve fooled no one but yourself.
Isn’t it incredible how often people take on major tasks, hopelessly unprepared, then are genuinely shocked when they are not successful? How delightfully delusional.
A good illustration is the mindset people have when making life changing career decisions and making job applications.
Having a job is one of the most important aspects of our lives. There is no doubting the significant impact employment has, in terms of provision of the material elements that make up that aspect of quality of our lives.
It is often said, that you are what you do. Think of all the times conversations start with “what’s your name,” then quickly moves on to “what do you do?”
Let’s face it, working is a must have. It can be the difference between the “haves and the have nots”.
There are no excuses for not putting the necessary time and effort into making a job application. Don’t complain about not getting a chance, then be unprepared when you do.
Making excuses instead of taking responsibility for actions, is the hallmark of people who fail to succeed both in their professional and personal lives.
If you took a moment to realise the consequences of not preparing properly for your next career move, you would apply yourself more fiercely, not because you have nothing to lose, but because everything can be lost.
You cannot be serious?
Time for a little self-reflection. Don’t explain, rationalise or defend… Is this you?
You are looking to make your next career step. You can feel the butterflies and nerves. It’s such an important time. Even exciting. So much depends on being successful in securing your next position.
Ok, time to get started…
You trawl the job boards. You find half a dozen attractive opportunities. Now for the application process.
You spend 20mins updating your CV, and working on your cover letter and resume, then 30seconds, cutting, pasting and copying from one job to another. Job done. Just a matter of time now, before the invitations for interview.
You wait expectantly… nothing… not a word. It’s irritating, & annoying. It even makes you angry. Disbelief…What could have gone wrong?
Well… let’s see what happened to your dream job, in your dream world!
You are asking Employers to invest tens of thousands of pounds, weeks of training, and responsibility for their brand in you. In return, you have given each job around 230 seconds of your time!!
Ask yourself, honestly, did you spend enough time on your application to warrant a reply? Would you interview you?
If you want to keep living the dream, hit the snooze button.
A top priority for Companies, is making sure that revenue generating departments have the resources they need. That often leaves HR departments understaffed. There are no ROI metrics to track when it comes to spending time replying to follow-up enquiries from ill prepared applicants. Therefore, many HR executives view continuous candidate communication as a non-priority.
Employers don’t want to hire someone who wants to do a job like theirs, they want the person who really wants their job. Getting that message across starts by investing time and energy in the application.
Do Employers want you? YES. Will they chase you? NO
Why do Recruiters NEVER reply?
The main reason that Recruiters don’t write you back is that they just don’t have time.
In general, recruiters have one primary function: to fill jobs.
That sounds simple, but in reality, a recruiter’s responsibilities are far more complex.
Recruiters are hired by companies to identify the best candidate for their open positions. The employer pays a fee to the Recruiter to make a successful match. That means the Employer is the paying Client.
This doesn’t mean the Recruiter has any less vested in your successful job search. As a quality candidate, you play a vital role in the placement process because without you, Recruiters could not successfully fill their Clients’ job order.
However, no Recruiter wants to present a potential Candidate to a Client who clearly hasn’t prepared properly and whose application documentation is woefully different and lacking from the position applied for.
This reflects badly on Recruiters, who are not willing to risk their reputation on Candidates who are looking for a quick fix.
A Recruiter is not your tutor. You are totally responsible for your actions. Failure is the result of the choices YOU make.
The most important aspect of taking responsibility for your career is to acknowledge that your career is your responsibility.
Want to be successful in your job application? Then act like it, look like it, and become it.
I never expected that!
This could be your lucky day.
We at Full focus are willing break the vow of silence and talk directly to you. No longer MIA, like fellow Recruiters… you have a lifeline.
By now, you will have got the gist of why you are running to stand still.
To get our attention you must let us feel your hunger. Wanting is not enough. Convince us, and we will respond. We will help and guide you through the process.
We want to see that you are hungry for what you want. Hungry for success. Just plain hungry!
This will shine through in the quality of the documentation you prepare. This is your first and only chance to impress. Make it a good one.
Be under no illusions, first bad impressions count. You only need one opportunity to make a bad impression. Once water has run downstream, there is no way to get it back. Likewise, if you are unprepared, you have lost the opportunity, squandered the moment.
Position yourself, so that when you say “I never expected that” it is an exclamation of pleasant surprise, not a dismal statement of inevitable fact.
What next…
Invest the time and effort in preparing your application documentation. Do it, as if your life depended on it……which it does. Then contact us direct, at Full Focus and let’s see if together we can get what we both want.
Email: enquiries@fullfocusrecruitment.co.uk
Tel: 0161 428 3080