So you’re unemployed or currently looking to change your career and are frantically hunting for a ‘good’ job. Well, finding a job is easier said than done. Even if you have a great CV, a well-penned cover letter and/or aced an interview, chances are you may not get the job. Job seeking may not always be fun which may lead you to go to the people around you for support and advice. It is then that you might plenty of advice (sometimes unsolicited) from your close friends and family.
While many of these people have your best interests in mind, sometimes, they can provide misleading tips and advice that can do the complete opposite of what it is supposed to do and may also hinder your chances of securing a job. That is why we are here to navigate you through some recommendations that need to be avoided. Listed here are some of the most commonly heard bad pieces of advice.
“Apply even if you are not fully qualified for the job”
While this works in some cases where the candidate may be 60-70% fit for the job; it does not always work and may affect you by discouraging you from prospecting later. Most people say this because they think the more options you apply to, the better. But jobs today are extremely clear and specific about what they are looking for so make sure you apply only if you feel you are extremely qualified or close to it. By applying for a senior position when you are still at an entry-level position or by applying for a role that states that prior experience is mandatory and when you have little to no experience, then that will not be working in your favour.
“Fill your resume with plenty of buzzwords!”
Despite what you hear, this doesn’t work most of the time as an overabundance of buzzwords can be detrimental in the long run as it may fail to provide the right amount of information. Your resume should be designed in such a way that it catches the eye of the recruiter or the hiring manager. It needs to serve the purpose of providing them with a brief insight into your interests, background, and skills. While your resume must do the job of showing how well your skills match the requirements of the job description, make sure to not go down the rabbit hole of cluttering your resume with buzzwords and relying on that to nail the job.
“A little lie won’t hurt anybody”
But it will definitely hurt you. Take it from us- lying in your cover letter, resume, or interview doesn’t end too well. Just because you took Sanskrit in school for a semester, it doesn’t mean you are fluent at it and will not help in any way if you are asked to showcase your linguistic skills or if you are called out on it. That little white lie that may have sounded harmless in your head may leave you caught redhanded if you are hired and are unable to follow through with your initial made claims.
“Just wing it”
Sometimes this works in certain situations but other times it can majorly backfire like when it comes down to job interviews. We’re not saying study for the interview like it’s an exam or to write a script and stick to it but some form of prep and planning won’t hurt. Consider questions you will be asked pertaining to your previous experience as well as ensure to research the company’s history and current activities to create an impressionable impact on your interview or hiring manager.
“Look for a job only where you have educational background or training in”
Listen to this only if you are a business student looking to apply for the position of an engineer or doctor. But besides that, there is no need for you to pigeonhole yourself in a position where you have extensive knowledge or formal training in. If you have been considering a career shift, then you obviously don’t want to find something that aligns with something you have been doing.
At VOIZ, we have agents who used to work as field engineers and as teachers etc performing customer support and/or telesales based roles.
This piece of advice is quite demotivating and can hinder your job hunt tremendously. If you are interested in a certain career, there is nothing stopping you from going after it. Always remember that your education is not the blueprint for your career, and plenty of employers and hiring managers welcome diverse educational and training backgrounds in their workspace.
If you are currently in the process of looking for a job or considering applying for a whole new career change, then the above-mentioned tips should help you along the way. Feel free to head to our job search at VOIZ and browse through our latest vacancies to get a job as early as possible!