Job Hunting for Thanksgiving? 4 Tips to Bag the Quarry

Hunting for more than turkey during the holidays? After all the baking and eating, it can be easy to move your job hunting to the back burner, however a key to being successful in your search is managing your time and energy so you can take advantage of an opportunity to get a head of the competition. 

1. Wait for the prize game

When you’re worried about paying the rent, it seems that almost any job will do. Taking the first offer that comes along could be your biggest mistake. It’s also one of the most common reasons people go job hunting again soon — they settle for a wrong job, rather than select the right one. Take time to research the industry you want to work in. Learn what problems and challenges it faces. Then, identify the best company in that industry. Study the company, establish contacts, learn the business, and build expertise. Rather than being just a hunter for any job, learn to be the solution to one company’s problems. That’s what gets you hired, because such dedication and focus makes you stand out.

2. Know the terrain

It is important that you understand the place where you want to work. This means participating in the community and with people who work in the industry you want to be a part of. Every community has a structure and rules of navigation. Figure this out by circulating. Go to a party. Go to a professional conference or training program. Attend cultural and social events that require milling around with other people (think museums, concerts, churches). It’s natural to ask people you meet for advice and insight about the best companies in your industry.

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3. Avoid an insufficient bounty

A salary negotiation should be an honest discussion about what you and the employer can both afford. When you take a new job, think of it as entering into a type of marriage. Your finances will be intertwined. Work out a budget — my salary and your profitability —that you will both be happy with years down the road. The proper way to say it may be, “If I can’t show you how I will boost the company’s profitability with my work, then you should not hire me. But I also need to know that I can meet my own budget and my living expenses, so that I can focus entirely on my job.” Negotiating doesn’t have to be done across an adversarial table — and it should not be done over the phone. You can sit down and hash through a deal like partners.

4. Know what you’re getting into

Remember that next to our friends and families, our employers represent the most important relationships we have.  Failure to research and understand your prospective employer can leave you with no idea what you’re getting into until it’s too late. Other people who have important relationships with your  employer practice due diligence: bankers, realtors, customers, vendors, venture capitalists and stock analysts. Can you afford to ignore it?

Source:AskTheHeadhunter