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Explanation of Getting a Job - Personal Finances: Strategies in Handling Your Money. Also refer to employment, skill, education, interests, desires, offer, value,want ads, online, monster.com, friends, connections, application, resume, interview, impression, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions

Getting a Job

by Ron Kurtus (21 May 2007)

It is said that it is easier to do a job than to get a job. Finding employment can be a difficult task and is much different than what you would be doing on your job. You need to know what type of job you want. Then you must find places that have job openings in your area of work. Finally, you must convince the prospect of an employer to hire you.

Questions you may have include:

• How do you determine the type of job you want?
• How do you find places to apply for work?
• How can you convince an employer to hire you?

This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.

Determining type of work

In order to determine the type of work to seek, you need to look at what skills you have to offer. You also need to consider what type of things you like to do. But also, it is good to consider what jobs pay the most, as well as where there is demand.

Young people and students seldom have work experience or establish skills, and it may be difficult to find a job doing something that they really like to do. Since these jobs are often temporary, it may simply look for a job that is willing to hire an inexperienced person.

But if you are looking for a permanent job, you need to examine what you like to do and what you have to offer. You can set a goal of a dream job and look for positions that could be stepping-stones to that job. In the meantime, gain all the knowledge, skill and on-the-job training that you can, in order to reach your objective. This is true for young people as well as adults.

Sometimes you may decide to seek a job that is not quite what you want, but it pays better or has better possibilities. For example, a person may be a good abstract artist, but very few people can make a living in that field. Thus, the person seeks a job as a graphic artist to still use the artistic skills, but also to make a living.

Finding places to apply for work

Most people look through thewant ads in the newspaper to try to find a job. More recently, people have been using online job sources, like Monster.com and Craigslist. Unfortunately, the competition for these jobs is so great that your chances are not very high gaining employment.

On the other hand, most jobs are obtained through people you know. For example, it could be a friend of a friend who knows about an opening in a company. It is good to know and associate with people in professions or areas of work of interest to you. Also, your should let everyone know that you are looking for a job in a certain area.

Some simply go to the human resources department in companies in their area and ask if there are any openings. Often that method is effective.

Don't let any possibility be overlooked in your effort to find a place to apply for a job.

Convincing them to hire you

For some jobs, you need to send in a resume in an attempt to have a job interview. Your resume is a summary of your education and job experience, usually in one or at the most two pages. You include a cover letter with your resume that explains the position that you are seeking. They may then contact you to come in to fill out an application.

In other jobs, you may simply go in and fill out an application. In either case, you should be prepared for filling out the application, including information about your previous jobs and the names and numbers of personal references.

When you are interviewed for the position, you should be dressed appropriately. If you are applying for office-type work, you should be neatly dressed, slightly better than you would dress in the office. But if you were applying for a job working on automobiles, you would not wear a suit. Instead, you would dress neat and casual.

Try to be friendly, personable and attentive during your job interview. You want to make a good impression. It is good to know something about the business before the interview, so that you can ask knowledgeable questions. If the person feels that you will do a good job in the open position, there is a good possibility that you will be hired.

Summary

Finding employment can be a difficult task. You must analyze your skills and interested to determine what type of job you want. You can find places that have job openings in your area of work throughwant ads, friends, and cold calls. Finally, you must convince the prospect of an employer to hire you by making a good impression.

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Mini-quiz to check your understanding

1. Why should you give up your dream just to take a job?

2. Why is it difficult to get a job from answering an online ad?

3. What is wrong with using profanity during a job interview?

If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a champion in Personal Finances. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.

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