If you have been moving between temporary jobs, then it’s time that you started looking for career opportunities. The job market’s very competitive at this moment in time, but it’s still possible to find a permanent job at a good company.
The two most important things that you need when you are looking for work are experience and education. If you lack these things, then it’s still possible to find a career, but it’s just a little more difficult.
This post will tell you a few things that you should keep in mind if you are looking for job opportunities:
Industry Selection
The first thing that you need to think about is the industry that you want to work in. You won’t be able to find a job that you enjoy until you do. One of the most popular (but also competitive) industries at the moment is software development. Businesses are turning to software to resolve their problems and save money, so in response software companies are hiring new staff to help them to meet this growing demand. There are plenty of companies with a servant leadership culture hiring fully remote software developers like this one, for example. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of servant leadership, then it is a philosophy in which the leader’s goal is to serve those who they lead. Companies with servant leadership cultures are great places to work. Remote work is also something that’s very popular at the moment.
Software isn’t the only industry that’s growing at the moment, though. Basically, any industry that’s related to business, marketing, and the internet is one that’s worth getting into. The automobile, engineering, and electronics sectors are also all growing and are therefore worth your consideration. You can learn and prepare for aptitudes for a wide range of professions with these study guides.
Previous Experience
If you want to find a permanent job, or at least a temporary one that’s well paying, then you will need some degree of experience in that job’s specific industry. This experience doesn’t necessarily have to be prior work experience or even educational experience, it can be experience that you’ve gained through an internship or volunteering or something as simple as a brief online leadership course. Employers just want to see that you have taken the time to learn and research the industry. With that said of course, if you are applying for senior positions then experience is an absolute necessity, although do not write off your experience in other industries, instead focus on the skills that are transferable. For junior positions, you will not be expected to have much or even any experience.
If you are applying for junior positions, then the company that you are applying to work at will train you. This isn’t always the case, though. Some companies will require a university degree before they even consider taking you on. It’s always important to read each job description in full before applying so that you can identify whether or not the company that you applying for expects specific educational qualifications.
The person specification will outline the particular attributes they are looking for. But again, don’t write yourself off if you don’t meet every part of the specification. Interestingly women have been found to hold themselves to a much higher standard when it comes to job specs – we generally won’t apply unless we meet almost all of the specifications, whereas men are much more likely to take a punt if they meet just a few. Don’t rule yourself out, if you think you can do the job well and it’s a job you’d love to do, then go for it. They may have fewer applications than you imagine and then if you are invited to an interview personality, attitude and transferable skills count for so much more than can be measured in an application form.
Self-improvement
Self-improvement is very important if you want companies to take you seriously. Leadership courses are a good way to make yourself more attractive to companies that are hiring, but they are also a good way to improve yourself.
Get in the habit of reading books, such as 7 Habits of Highly Successful People and listening to inspirational podcasts and watch self-improvement videos, Some are a bit cheesy, but there is something for every taste out there so keep looking until you find an author who feels authentic and speaks to you.
Higher level self-improvement is to get yourself a careers coach or a mentor. They will help you to identify the areas of your life in which you want to make progress and change and then help to hold you accountable as you take steps towards those goals. Improving yourself will aid in improving your performance when you do eventually find a job that you want.
Company Culture
Something else that you need to bear in mind when you are looking for a job is the culture of the company that you are applying to work at. There are many different types of business cultures, including servant leadership, purpose-driven culture, safe and risk-conscious culture, and structured and methodical work environments. Most businesses will openly advertise what their specific culture is. If not, then you should be able to find this information online. Try to find a culture that works well for you. The wrong culture can be very hard to integrate into and work with.
Company History
Before you apply for a position at a company, you need to research the company’s history. Learning about the company’s history will help you to decide what its future is going to look like. In addition to telling you about the company’s future, you will also be able to learn about how the company treats its employees. It is also a good idea to reach out to a company’s former employees so that you can ask them what their time with the company was like. You can do this on platforms like LinkedIn.
Job Location
A job’s location is also something that obviously needs to be taken into consideration. Before applying for any job, you need to decide whether or not commuting is something that you want to do. If it isn’t, then you should apply exclusively for local or remote working jobs. Positions that are remote can be worked from home, or wherever you are, as long as you have an internet connection. Remote working is becoming more and more popular in the wake of COVID-19.
Working Hours
How many hours do you want to work a day? In some parts of Europe and the Americas, four-day weeks are being trialed. Four-day weeks are also being given a go in many British companies. However, with four day weeks comes more working hours in the day. In parts of Asia, three-day weeks are common. Depending on where you are in the world, you need to consider what the options available to you are. A shortened week means that you will have to work many more hours in the day, which isn’t desirable to a lot of people. You should work out what’s right for you and what’s compatible with your lifestyle.
If you have a family, then working fewer days but more hours might be a very good option for you. The reason for this is that it will give you an opportunity to spend more time with your family on your days off. More working hours in the day can be very stressful, though. If you are only used to seven to eight-hour days, then twelve and thirteen-hour days could end up being unbearable for you.
Salary
How much do you want or need to earn? If you want a career, then you might need to accept a lesser wage at first, with a view to earning more in the future. Sometimes it’s a lot better to get a job that doesn’t pay well, because it offers opportunities for future development. The only way to determine whether or not there are future opportunities though is to speak to the company. Many companies will specifically state in job listings that they offer opportunities in the future and that by taking the job, you will essentially be signing yourself up for a lifelong career. You can usually negotiate with companies to increase the starting salary that you are offered if they want you badly.
Job Benefits
Another thing that you need to give thought to is benefits, such as the size of pension contribution, number of holiday days, wellbeing support and health and life insurance. Benefits can add up to a substantial saving, so don’t take them for granted. Most jobs will specify the benefits that they offer in their hiring post. If they do not, then you should ask them directly and take the value of benefits and what they say about the company culture into account as part of your search process.
Responsibilities
When you are trying to take a new career path, you need to think about the kind of responsibilities that your new role will involve. If you are not ready for taking on a lot of responsibilities, then now isn’t the time to take a new career path. In addition to extra responsibilities, you also need to make sure that you are open and willing to work extra hard. If you want to make your new job a lifelong career, then you need to be willing to apply yourself and show your employers that hiring you was a good decision.
Growth Opportunities
One last thing to think about is the opportunities that the company will give you to grow and develop in the industry. If you are applying for a job as a junior staff member, then you need to be confident that you have the ability to become a senior member, with hard work. In addition to internal company growth, the perfect job and company will also ensure that you grow internally as a person, improve and learn new skills, becoming more of an asset to yourself and them.
If you are looking for a career, then there are a few things that you need to take into consideration. This post has covered most of them. There’s no point in working temporary jobs because they won’t provide you with the security and the confidence that a career can give you.