Job Search & Job Interview Tips
Looking for a new job is not an easy process. It is possible and acceptable that you feel overwhelmed and anxious. We are here to help, if you find yourself asking questions like, ”How do I start the job search process?” or “How do I prepare myself for a successful interview?”
We are sharing the decisive and important steps you can take to find a new job, including where you should look first, how to use your network to increase visibility, how to follow up, plus more tips and tricks on how to get hired.
Following these steps may support you in improving your chances of getting the dream job you have always wanted to pursue! Here it is a clue to find where you should start!
1 Reflection of self-consciousness
Reflection is a very important step and employee candidates generally forget the significance of this step for the job search process. Rather than jumping right into the vacancies, we recommend you step back and reflect on why you’re looking for a new job. This helps you frame what your next best step should be.
You can focus on taking 4 important question regarding your career into consideration:
- Who am I?
- What are my dreams?
- What can I do?
- What are my skills? How can I emphasize them?
Analyzing the answers of these questions will bring clarity and a path to find what the right job looks like for you.
2 Prepare your Visibility and Maintain Presence in Online Platforms
Your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and portfolio of your work and projects are all promotional tools that help increase your visibility on online job search platforms. All these tools can share your personality, so it is very significant to describe the major achievements regarding your career and education life.
It is essential to have a profile in online job search platforms. This online presence can increase your chances not only in a local sector, but also provides global networks and opportunities. Therefore, it is very important to join the digital age and meet the requirements.
3 Think about searching strategy
After doing a self-evaluation and polishing your visibility for your dream job, it is time to narrow down your job search! You need to answer some questions about what you would like in a job. For example, do you prefer working for a small, medium, or large company? In the public or private sector?
4 Follow local centers and communicate with your network
If employee candidates start to search from the local areas, it may speed up the process and make it easier to find a job in a short time. Generally, people tend to forget to apply to local centers and job search clubs. The biggest public institution in Turkey is İŞKUR, which supports people to realize their employability. Those who are looking for a job as a worker in public institutions or private sector companies can register on the İŞKUR system via either the Online Branch or the nearest Provincial Directorate of İŞKUR. After signing up with their curriculum vitae, the employment experts will support people to find their dream job. Indeed, these types of institutions and organizations have resources to facilitate your job search. The same applies to your own network as well. You need to be in close contact all the time with your social network and track down people who work in your target sector. Being in communication and keeping your contacts can provide a new career path and bring unexpected opportunities.
5 Prepare and Practice for Interview
Follow these steps to help you best prepare for interviews:
- Updating your resume is a vital first step to prepare for any interview. In today’s competitive career world, it is very important to have a resume which reflects you and the expectations of the company that you apply to. Well prepared resumes always increase your chances of getting an interview. It is very important to keep it updated all the time. Finally, bring a copy of your resume to every interview.
- Select an appropriate and clean interview outfit.
- Make a list of your strongest qualifications to remind yourself why you are good fit for the job. You can try to relate these features with the required qualifications in the published vacancy.
- Make a list of common interview questions and prepare answers for them. It will be better to think about how you would answer each one.
- Doing a research about the company before the interview is important to prove your difference among the candidates. Do not forget the key projects and main objectives of the company.
- Many employers also like candidates to ask questions at the end of the interview; it may demonstrate your interest and intent.
- Ask a friend or family member to do a practice interview with you. Have them ask you questions from the list of possible interview questions you wrote. Then, you should ask them to give you constructive feedback about the way you answered the questions, your body language, your professionalism, and your general appearance.
- As a final step, do not forget the importance of practice. The best way to prepare for an interview is to practice in a setting similar to that of the actual interview.
- You should not be late on the day of the interview. Arriving to the interview location 15 minutes in advance is suggested.
- After an interview, send a thank you letter to the person who interviewed you. A prompt follow up is not only professional, but it also allows you another chance to demonstrate your interest in the position.
- Do not forget to follow the process. Generally, companies finalize the interview with a promise to be in touch "soon". Do not let this ending stop your interest and follow with your interviewer.
6 Keep looking and never give up!
Finally, remember that these steps might not work the first time around. When searching for a job, "you have to keep looking; don’t focus all your energy on a single job." In time, your efforts will be rewarded! Even, if you've had a bad interview for a job that you truly think would be a great fit for you, don't give up!