Think As Inc

REMEMBER MISS TEXAS

April 8, 2010 on 1:34 am | In career coaching | No Comments

Now that the economy is improving, we might be more confident in our career prospects.  Confidence is always good up to a point:

I saw a Junior Miss pageant, where there was a clear frontrunner in Miss Texas.  She had the highest scores from the preliminaries, the semifinals, and most of the finals.  But in the last competition, the evening gowns, she slipped down the stairs, and ended up fourth runner-up.  Miss Texas exemplifies what happens to a lot of candidates, who master the job search basics, but forget how beauty pageants, I mean jobs, are actually won.  You need to pass the preliminaries (the resume screen) to get to the semifinals (the general interviews) to get to the finals (the subsequent interviews).  And, you need to win each round on its merits.  A superior resume won’t compensate for blowing the interview.  High initial scores won’t compensate for careening down the stairs.  As in beauty pageants, your scores get wiped out with each subsequent round.

Thus, nailing the job means that you must always be at your best.  The proper steps to a job search are sequential because one prepares you for the next.  But each has its unique significance and challenges, and you must master them all.  You must have good strategy, powerful marketing, thorough research, polished interviewing skills, organized follow-up, and the ability to close the deal.  You must have all these skills all the time because you will frequently be at different stages with each target company in your job search.  Effective job search basics rely on effective juggling basics:  focus, concentration, and discipline.  You cannot get sloppy.

You might overhear from the CEO’s assistant that you’re the one!  You might be wined and dined at company-paid meals.  You might be negotiating salary.  Until you are through the door on the first day of your new job, you are Miss Texas.  Watch your step.