May 20, 2012. Samuel Valero
You may come to the job search armed with a great track record at work and
school, numerous promotions and awards, and affiliations with prestigious
institutions that most only dream of visiting. Or maybe this doesn’t describe
you at all, and you worry about how you will ever measure up.
Whatever your
background, you can be sure that you will not progress far in the job market
without doing your due diligence. A runner doesn’t win the race without
training, and a job seeker doesn’t get an interview without laying some
groundwork. Preparation, not impressive credentials, is the real key to success.
Good preparation begins with understanding the conditions and contexts of
the job search. It is the difference between firing out resumes in great quantities
with little focus, and taking a few well aimed shots directly at your desired
targets. Your success rate will increase markedly if you do preliminary research
before sending out your applications.
Say you learn from a friend who works at your dream company that the perfect
position has just opened up. You quickly cut and paste your cover letter and
resume into an e-mail, and then wait with bated breath. Every time the phone
rings, you race to answer it, confident it will be the company calling for an
interview. So it comes as somewhat of a shock when you hear that someone
else got the interview you so coveted. With your high grades and impressive
work experience, why wouldn’t the company so much as give you a shot?
When your friend tells you later that the person who “stole your interview” had
impressed the boss with a cover letter that showed she’d thoroughly researched
the company, you feel like kicking yourself. If only you had done your research
instead of sending out the same cover letter and resume you send to everyone.
Updated May 20, 2012. Published February 16, 2012. Samuel Valero
