The Best Advice I Can Give to Job Seekers
Working closely with the career services department at the post-secondary school I worked for, the majority of the hosted workshops and advice given to the students were about writing the perfect resume and how to properly interview. Without these two essentials, you cannot portray to any hiring manager that you are a strong candidate for the job.
Of course, there are differences in opinion about the perfect resume and what information to openly provide to hiring managers during an interview. Although that is the case, there are usually fundamental pointers.
That's not what I'm here to talk about. At least not entirely.
Ever since I received by bachelor's degree, I've constantly been reading many articles and have subscribed to various newsletters from career coaches and HR professionals. As a person who was ready to go out and get a career (since I did not want to work at the school forever), I was hungry to obtain all of the information I could get my hands on. Reading about different perspectives from people who have reached a certain level of success in my eyes was helpful for my own self-development. Furthermore, I wanted to make sure I knew everything I needed to know about snagging the job I wanted.
In a matter of six months, I had a number of interviews and was growing more frustrated that I wasn't getting any offers. Should I redo my resume? Am I wearing the wrong colors? Should I have emphasized more in a particular area? Did I say the wrong thing? Was I overly friendly?
I had become so preoccupied with saying the right things and telling the perfect stories that I had forgotten the most essential part of the interview.
Being myself.
Making sure I hit all the main points became my priority and I wasn't showing much of my personality. At some point, I became burned out by all of the interviews and submitting hundreds of applications that I almost gave up on my job search. Defeat, disappointment, and dismay took up residence in my body that I almost gave up.
ALMOST.
That's when I decided to take a different approach. I submitted a few more applications to companies I was most interested in joining and got a couple of interviews. Of course, I did the usual homework about the companies and highlighted certain skills that I posses.
What was so different about these two interviews was that I decided to be one hundred percent myself. I have a bubbly personality and tend to randomly crack jokes (especially in stressful situations), so that is exactly what I showed them. Before, I had been so scared to show this side of me thinking it would only turn them off. Boy, was I wrong.
I got both job offers.
Ecstatic, eased, and empowered were the new emotions that took up residence in my body. I don't remember the last time I had felt so utterly relieved and excited about my future. The way I see it, if you can't be yourself at your place of work, then what's the point?
So if there's any advice I can give to those looking for a job...
