Ultimately, in your job-hunt, your overall success will depend on:
- The clarity of employers? definitions of the needs of their organisations
- Your understanding of those needs and your relative ability to convince those employers that you can fulfil them (i.e. relative to the ability of your competitors). This sometimes surprises people as they do not fully appreciate the nature and extent of the competitive situation that they are in.
You should be aware that when you are applying for a known position (one advertised on the internet, in newspapers etc), you should expect at least 100 other applicants to apply too.
Sometimes 200 - or even more. Clearly this may not be the case for some positions, but it will serve you well to assume this to be the case.
And many will be better qualified for the job than you in some way.
You will be in a very competitive situation, so you will need to treat it as such.
Being good or even excellent is not enough.
You need to be the best.
First among equals.
Numero uno.
I will refer often to ?playing the averages? and getting an ?edge over your competition?, or a ?razor?s edge?, because the difference between winning and losing in this arena, as well as in life in general, can be very fine: as fine as a razor?s edge.
I have two points here:
One is that small things add up.
If there is even one ?small thing? that you overlooked that your competitor did not, you will lose out, all else being equal. Simple as that.
" A handful of men have become very rich simply by paying attention to details that most others ignored. "
Henry Ford
Number two is that: The difference between success and failure is truly significant.
One guy gets the job, the car, the house and the walks on the beach at sunset. The other gets a front-row seat in an unemployment office. Well, maybe not that drastic, but you get my point.
" The first one gets the oyster, the second gets the shell. "
Andrew Carnegie
Be aware that in any one job hunt, there is only one winner.
The rest come equal-second and that means having to try again.
Unfortunately, the world does not bestow much recognition upon the second-placed guy.
People simply don?t remember who comes second.
Check it out.
Everyone remembers Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps who both won so many Olympic gold medals.
Who came second in any of those events?
You might know who the second man on the moon was, but everyone knows the first man was Neil Armstrong.
The first man to climb Everest?
The first man to run a four-minute mile?
Who came second in all these things did almost exactly the same thing, in perhaps even more difficult conditions, but they are condemned to relative obscurity.
But even those second-placed heroes get some recognition ? eg a silver medal.
In any single job-hunt, they get nothing for coming second.
" Winning isn?t everything. But it?s the only thing that counts. "
Vince Lombardi
In short, your task is to take care of ALL the details in the entire job application process, appeal to everyone and not offer ANY reason for ANYONE to reject you.
So this part of the process is vitally important, and, in this blog, you will find a number of articles and tip-sheets providing guidance on how to go about it.
If you prefer to get it all in one place, you can download my best-selling book
DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO
at a special member?s price.
Till next time, always remember I am rooting for you!
With love & blessings
Peter Fleming FCMA
Your Career Success Coach