Job Search
If you are reading this chapter, you are in one of two conditions: either you are just out of college or graduate school, or you have reached what Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, calls a "strategic inflection point." A strategic inflection point is one whose "times in the life of a business or a person when fundamentals are about to modify. That modify can mean a chance to increase you to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the starting of the end. We all have coworkers and friends who always have an updated copy of their resume existing. These individuals are not only savvy but also understand their organization, their industries, and their own skills. This knowledge enables them to anticipate modify and how it may change them down the line. Assume the employee who never took the time to become skilled with any of the modern software available at the office, and is working for an organization that just purchased a multimillion- dollar computerized MRP system. Who has the benefits now, the young kid fresh out of college, or the older employee who's been at the job-doing it the old way and probably doing it well-for 20 years? Regardless of whether or not it's fair-it's often the young, trainable employee continuous his or her future career. Given the almost constant state of technological and economic change, the capability to innovate, and do so fast is imperative. So keep an updated version of your resume on hand to be organized when an chance comes along.
On a larger scale, assume the owners of Blockbuster Video, who develop a multibillion-dollar kingdom renting video cassettes. Blockbuster approached a planning inflection point with the onset of digital satellites, telecommunications deregulation, and the prospect that customer soon would be able to order any of thousands of movies via the Internet and emerging wireless technologies. How often will the suburban family run out to the video store to pick up the newly release when it's available for the similar price simply by clicking on their satellite offerings?
Microsoft's 1995 response to the Internet-with the launch of its online service, MSN-is a better example of a positive reply to a strategic inflection point. Late to the market, Microsoft understood the effect the Internet would have on its organization and it rallied to capture fast the attention of an important area of the consumable market. Such revolutionary changes in the markets are occurring daily, and what makes you marketable is your capability to recognize and reply to such changes before they occur. To take benefits of change, you must foresee it. Accordingly, you must have a broad knowledge of the job market before attempting a job search.
Once you have a sense of the job market, the best time to look for a job is when you before have one. You are much more striking to an employer if you are previously working. It tells the potential employer that other firm-preferably a name with market equity-has previously bought into your capability. If you are out on the street looking for a job you have to initially overcome whatever caused you to lose your job- both on paper with your resume and in person during an interview.
If you're just opening out on your career (having graduated from college or graduate school), you'll need to overcome the classic dilemma: How can I get a good job without experience and how can I get knowledge without a good job? We address these questions further in the chapter.
Finding a job needs you to know what sort of job you are searching for, and this can be harder than it appears. Another one, during the course of your job search you will need to built a resume as well as a network of contacts that you can ask for help and eventually send your resume. At the end, you will go by a concentrated period of interviewing for different levels.
While covering the difficulties of recruiting and the job search, this chapter also covers the often-overlooked procedure of thinking about your future planning; this will help you recognize and ultimately land the job of your option. Through- out the procedure, remember that searching for a job is a ability, and one that develop each time you use it.