The Stupid Job Seeker. Me.

When I lost the plot.

This goes back to a few years when I was desperately trying to land a job in a different country. I think that was probably the only thing going in my mind at that moment and I was out there dropping emails to all the possible HR and talent email IDs i could find. Some of them were kind enough to drop me a not so harsh rejection mail, some might have had good laugh (don’t blame them) and might have gone totally WTF (again, don’t blame them). I also got a few leads but never landed that dream job in a new land.

I was just going through a few mails I had written and couldn’t stop feeling embarrassed about myself. What was I thinking? I had totally lost the plot. Not only I didn’t have the right credentials for a company to pick me up and invest in me at the time, but also I guess the way I was approaching the companies might have been a little unprofessional and naive. Lesson learnt, never doing that again.

I guess the best possible to way to get a new job in a new country or even in your native one is to do your research, connect and network with as many people as possible. Also something that I have learnt in my career of around 3 years is not to go for the 1st offer (unless it’s something you truly wanted). It’s always nice to have at-least 2 more in your bucket before you seal the deal. I guess these are some of the rituals I think every job seeker should follow:

Do you even need a job change? : Most of times it’s a little something that’s irking you, try and talk to your boss. If it doesn’t work out, yes go for it.

Know what you want: Is it in co-relation to what the company is seeking in the job position.

Research: It’s always good to know what the market has to offer before you actually put in your papers. Try researching for relevant job openings on LinkedIn and other job networks. Try connecting to a few people from the industry (most of them are really helpful).

Get to know the company: Always good to a thorough research on the company if you have landed an interview. Collect as much info. as possible, not for the HRs sake, but for yours.

Know the process: Especially if you are planning to apply in a different country, it’s better if you know the visa/ immigration process before hand.

and lastly

Don’t drop random e-mails: Please, don’t.