Especially if you have been unemployed for a while, you might be tempted to rush into the first job that seems available. To avoid being unhappy in a job, however, it is important to research possible job opportunities carefully. The first stage of this research involves carefully reading the job announcements. This article will discuss examples of how to do this initial research by carefully reading job announcements. Then, you can research promising job possibilities more thoroughly to prepare for job interviews.
You must determine the location of the job and if the distance between the job and where you want to live is too great. This distance calculator will give you this information.
You also must try to match your personality with the job climate. If you are a “slow, but steady” type of worker, you might not be happy at a company that describes itself as “fast paced,” or “deadline oriented.”
If you believe in a good work-life balance, you might not be happy working for a company whose job announcement declares, “overtime required.” The fact that this requirement is in the job announcement possibly means that working overtime is a frequent requirement.
Some job announcements might read, “No phone calls please.” This might mean that they already have chosen an internal employee and that they are collecting resumes as a legal formality.
The job announcement might read, “Team leadership skills required.” If so, you might be expected to function as a manager without the pay or authority of a manager.
If you have a “by the book” type of personality, you might not be happy working for a company that emphasizes the phrase, “problem solving skills required” in their job announcement. In such a company you might be expected to improvise problem solutions quite often.
Being happy in your job is important. As Bobby Unser said, “Desire! That’s the one secret of every man’s career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents. Desire.”
Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 reads, “So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.”
Were you ever surprised by the nature of a job after you began it?
