Job hunting. Easily one of the most stressful times in anyone’s life. If you’ve just left college and it’s your first time job hunting, there’s a few things you need to know if you want to be successful. If you’ve already been in a job for a while and are looking to switch jobs, there’s still a few things you’re going to need to switch up. But applying for a job doesn’t need to be as hard as your brain is making it out to be. All the stress and worry you feel usually clouds your vision, and can sometimes mean the difference between getting, or not getting a job. So, whatever stage in life your job hunt is occurring, let this article prepare you in every way for the best possible outcome.

Find Your Passion

Before you even start job hunting, you need to know what your passion is. There are thousands of different career roles out there for you, but finding one that is going to make you happy can sometimes seem like an impossible task. If you’ve already been stuck in a job you hate for months, then you need to be sure you hit the nail on the head with this one. Do some research into careers that interest you, and talk to people in the profession for an honest opinion of what the career is like. Don’t go in blindly or you’ll soon find yourself in the same situation you’ve already been in. If you’re doing your first job hunt from college, there’s plenty of career advisors that will be able to guide you through the choosing process. Hopefully through your years of college you’ll have had an idea of what role you’d like to enter into before leaving. A common career path at the minute is trucking. The money is so well paid, and as long as you have a clean drivers license you can pursue the career. So if you love driving, it’s definitely going to be a worthwhile career for you. There’s also a lot of travelling involved, so for a lot of people it’s a win win job. You’ll obviously need to get a different license, so finding a trucking school to help you complete it is probably wise. The same applies to other career roles. If you hate working in an office or even just getting out of bed each day, why not go freelance? There’s so many opportunities and so much more freedom involved. Just find your passion, research it, and go for it. Nobody should hold you back when it comes to your career.

Experience

If you’re going into a skilled profession, you’re going to need a bit of experience in the area. A lot of jobs will ask on their job advert for a year’s worth of experience in the field. So if you’re really passionate about something, you need to get out there and start volunteering. Not only will you be doing good for other people, but you’ll be doing a lot of good for yourself in the future. However, giving up your time to do something that you won’t get paid for can be hard for some people to do, especially if they’ve already got a job and a family to support, but sometimes you just need to grit your teeth and find the time to do it. Take paramedics for example. You’ll need to train for years before you become qualified, but they don’t just let anybody into the profession, you need to have some sort of qualification or experience if they’re going to take you on. Volunteering in any health care area will set you above others massively. Whether it be caring in the community, or even voluntary work for the ambulance service if they allow it.

Resume

Your resume is your selling point when it comes to job hunting. When you’re applying for a job you’re competing against hundreds of other people who are all desperate to get the position you’re going for. All your potential employee is going to know about you is from what they read on your resume, so you need to make it pop. Be sure to put all your past work experiences on there, even if it’s volunteering. They like to see that people are willing to give up their spare time. If it isn’t the experience that’s going to grab their attention, it’s the part where you talk about yourself. Don’t just say, ‘I like shopping, I like going out with friends.’ Talk about your passions as if they’re the best thing in the world. Don’t be afraid to go into detail. Also, as a side note, when talking about your past experiences, be sure to mention what core skills they gave you. Was it communication skills, team work etc. Potential employers love to see how you can use transferable skills.

Interview

The interview is definitely the most nerve wracking part for a hell of a lot of people. No matter how confident you think you are, as soon as you see the person’s face who is going to be interviewing you, the heart starts pounding. This is only natural though. Before the interview try and practice relaxation techniques that’ll help you think more clearly during the interview. Like with most people, your brain will probably fog and you’ll forget answers to questions or just not portray yourself in the best light that you could. You need to try and be as confident as possible when walking in there. Don’t see them as some scary person, see them as a friendly human who probably doesn’t want to be there as much as you do. You also need to make sure you aren’t being too cocky. No employer likes a show off, so don’t go in there telling them you’re the best employee they’re ever going to have, it just isn’t going to work in your favour. Confident and modest is the attitude you need to have if you want to achieve.