Job hunting is like dating – here’s how to package yourself

“JOB hunting is just like dating. Two people sit across from each other saying ‘Do I want to see you again?’ Nobody gets a job without being interviewed; conversations are always taking place.

“There is a system to job dating,” explains career consultant Andrew Bramley at a recent conference hosted by the University of Stellenbosch Business School’s (USB) Career Service Office.

Bramley says it is very important to package yourself correctly for potential employers in order to get the job you really want.

“Careers used to be a decision but things have changed. Nowadays, it’s a choice. But we don’t have a system to explore all of the choices out there.”

To make the right career choice, Bramley has designed a system of four steps to help people make better choices. He calls this system the “Gift WRAP Guru” – What, Relate, Align and Personal.

What

“WHEN you get the ‘what’ right, it means that whatever you package has impact. Here you have to work out what you really want to do,” he says. Questions to ask yourself are: 1. What do I really want to do? 2. Where do I fit in? 3. What makes me different from the other candidates?

4. What do I want to

say to my potential employer with my CV?

He adds that it is important to make sure that your objective is clear in your CV.

Relate

“THE reasons why we have careers are to serve other people. It is not about what you can get from an organisation, but how an organisation can benefit from you.

“Once you take the focus off yourself, marketing yourself becomes fun because it’s about how you can help someone else,” Bramley explains.

“Rather than saying ‘Can you please give me this job?’ the question becomes ‘I have this gift and I am wondering if you need this?’ If the potential employer does not require the service you have to offer, your next question should be ‘Who do you know that needs what I do?’”

He says packaging is not only about making sure you get the job, but making sure you get the right job that is waiting for you.

Align

BRAMLEY says potential employers go to the internet when they want to find out more about you.

“You have to make sure that everything you are presenting to the market is consistent across different media platforms. Keep your LinkedIn profile updated because it’s all about aligning your CV and profile to what the market needs,” he says.

Your objective should align

with

your experience and qualifications.

Personal

HERE you need to ask yourself what makes you stand out from the rest?

“For the employer looking at your CV you are just another person out there who has done a BCom degree. It makes you a ‘me-too’. The last part you have to think about is the personal question,” he says. Here you should think about: 1. What kind of person am I? 2. What is important to me? 3. Why am I here? 4. What can I do? Bramley says, “everyone is innovative, but you must make it clear in your CV why you will be innovative for that specific organisation”.