Looking for a job

Whatever the reason is (lay-off, change of career, moving to a new place, a better salary...), looking for a job is a very difficult process requiring a lot of patience. Being one of those who had gone through all this process, I couldn't say "no" to Bircan when she asked me to share this experience with others. 

By Aysel TOPRAKLI

Being laid-off is something similar to find all your water resources dry or frozen. You need to start working on a solution systematically to make the resources available again.

“Where can I start from?” is the first thing you may think of. The first step is to prepare a resume where you put together all your past job experience. If you are already at 40’s and your last job search was about 20 years ago, you need to work harder since everything has changed since then. The resume is seen as a marketing tool. There are different formats like “chronological” where you list your experience in the order of occurrence or “functional” where you group your experience based on your job roles. There are, now, some organizations or people who prepare the best resume for you. Preparing resumes is a career itself.

Fortunately, we have Internet now. Internet is the infinite collection of resources where you can find anything you look for. There are also books about “resume-writing”. You may visit a few bookstores to review the books written on “resume-writing” and then buy the most convenient one for you to keep it as a reference whenever you need. You can prepare your own resume by looking at the samples you may find on the Internet or in the books. You need to review your resume from time to time to update it or make necessary corrections if there is a need. It is also good to ask a friend to review it for you.

When your resume is ready, you may start looking for a job. The first thing you think of is the job-search page of the newspapers. This is one way of doing it; there are some other ways, too, for the job search.   

We have Internet again, this time for the job search. There are many job-search sites where you can put a copy of your resume. You can apply for the advertised job posts online. Almost every company has a web site now and they all have a page where they advertise their vacant positions and accept online job applications. You may try this way too, if you are interested in a specific company or organization.

Another option for job search is your own circle of friends. You have to inform everybody that you are looking for a job. In case your immediate friends cannot help you themselves, they may have other friends who know about an open position in their organization or in another company. They may even refer you to their friends.

There are also recruiting companies. These companies find jobs for people and find people for the companies who are looking for somebody to hire. These recruiting companies have their own web sites, too. You may either submit your resume online to them or you may visit and give them a copy of your resume.

You should try to participate in social events. This will help you to keep your spirits high as well as to meet new people who may help you in your job search. Networking and personal interaction is also required and may be the most effective way in your job search as well as online or written job applications. When there is a job opening in an organization, most of the time, people ask to their friends to see if they know anybody possessing the required skills for that position and they prefer to hire people coming through referral.  

Participating in some volunteer work during this period may help you to meet with new people but at the same time it helps you to keep your spirits high while giving you the feeling of achievement.

It may take longer than you anticipate finding a full time job as you wish. A part time job during this period may help you financially and may save you getting bored of routine job search. If it is a job where you can use your own skills, it may help you to learn something new and develop new skills.

You may take this period as an opportunity to work on your hobbies or if you don’t have one, you may learn something new which may become a hobby for you. Hobbies may take you to different platforms and may help you to gain new friends and new skills.

You have to prepare for a possible interview while doing your job search and applying for the jobs. Just like preparing a resume, there are many techniques and guidelines about the job interviews. Practicing most frequently asked interview questions, you might develop good interview skills to present yourself and your experience in a better way and be ready when you are invited to an interview. You may find many examples and documents about developing good interview skills on the Internet and in the bookstores.

You still have some more work to do when you had an interview. You have to follow up the status of your interview with the organization and the people whom you had an interview. Even if you receive a negative answer, if you can get some feedback, it may help you to correct your mistakes and to improve your weaknesses.  

Looking for a job is a tiring process and requires a lot of work and determination. You have to take it as if it is a full time job. Sometimes, you may think that you are working overtime. During this exhausting period, you have to keep your spirits high and you have to feel confident. Your family and friends and the other people around you will be giving you the support that you need. So, spend time with them, talk to them and share your feelings and problems. This will help you to feel better. You have to work hard without letting anything put you down in order to be successful and achieve your goal. You may take a break if you are too tired of it but never give up. A friend of mine told me “ There is always light at the end of the tunnel” during that difficult period I had been going through. Since then I did not forget this. You will reach the light no matter how long is the tunnel…

With all my best wishes,
Aysel Toprakli
New York, February 7, 2007