I’ve been a bit quiet
lately, which doesn’t bode well for my blogging aspirations. BUT, I have an
excuse! – a good one too. I’ve been job hunting.
Now, anyone who has
been through the recruitment process will know what a daunting procedure it can
be. You search through reams of jobs you can’t do, just to find the handful of
jobs that you qualify for. You send out your CV. This is followed by any of the
following – silence, email exchanges, assessment tasks, interviews, second
interviews, negotiations and hopefully
a suitable job. Times are tough in South Africa and you know you’ve got more
than healthy amount of competition to deal with too.
A Good Dose of Curiosity
Of course, what many
fail to realise when job hunting is that you should be sussing out a company as
much as they are interrogating you. The said company is where you will spend 8
hours (or more) of your day. Apparently there are 249 working days a year in
South Africa. Let’s do the math:
249 * 8 = 1192 hours
That’s a lot of time!
So, to prevent the onset of madness, it goes without saying that you should at
least be vaguely comfortable and happy with your working situation. Amidst the
nerves and heart palpitations that are part and parcel of interviews, you need
to be able to gather yourself enough to ask good, insightful questions. AND,
take a good look around. What does the office look like? Do the people seem
content with their working situation? Can you visualize yourself sitting there
for 1192 hours of the year? If these thoughts cause the onset of even more
heart palpitations, then perhaps there is no point in pursuing the job any
further.
Who’s Bluffing?
What I find most
challenging about the recruitment process is the ensuing negotiations that take
place when a company is interested in you. Nowadays, it is standard practice
for a company to ask you what your salary requirements are before you are even
invited for an interview. I understand why businesses ask; because they don’t
want to waste time interviewing you just to find out that they can’t afford you
– but still, it really sucks that you could be shooting yourself in the foot
before you’ve even had a chance to reconsider your expectations based on other
factors.
Yes, you’ll want to
earn a decent wage for the 1192 hours a year you’ll work, but other factors still
play a part. Personally, my working environment and the people I will work with
have become determining factors as to whether I’m even interested in a job.
But, what I’m trying
to get to is the crucial part of the interview phase – money. Don’t you just
love how they save that for last? By this stage they’ve drawn the process out
so long and reminded you just how many other applicants they are considering.
In other words, don’t be too fussy now. There’s a line of people waiting to
snap up this position.
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| Image via Graela |
Now I’m not saying
that you shouldn’t be flexible with finances, but it is good to go into the
recruitment process knowing what your absolute cut off is. My experience has
been that companies play their cards very tight to their chest - and you should
do the same. Don’t be too forthcoming. Think about things carefully before you
talk. Listen, wait and then talk.
When I think back to my
first job interview, I want to laugh every time. They asked me where I saw
myself in 5 years; I said England. They asked me what career I wanted to
pursue; I said I didn’t know – maybe teaching!? And no, I wasn’t interviewing
for a teaching post in England, I was interviewing for a copywriting job in
Cape Town. Thankfully, they saw past my faux pas and were gracious enough to
give me the job anyway. It was my ‘foot in the door’ so to speak and I will
always be grateful for it.
One thing I can say is
– interviews (whether you’re offered the
job or not/whether you want the job
or not) are good practice. But, they aint for sissies. So, wear your bravest
face and put yourself out there. And above all, pray!
P.S. I got the job J
