How to Find and Keep a Job

Have you ever landed a job and lost it within the same year? Many people get hired, only to fail making it past their probation! What gives? Follow these simple steps to understand the "get a job" process. You'll not only end up with a job, you'll end up with a job you want to keep until you--not your boss--say you're through.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. If you're using an employment agency or service, be sure you get involved in choosing the places you go to, and don't just go on any job hunt they advise. You may land a job that matches your skills, but it is unlikely they know much about you and what you really want in a job. Employment agencies and services usually get paid commission on placements! They're there to get you off the unemployment roles! Unless their paycheck is tied to retention rates too, they're not necessarily motivated to find a job where you'll be happy and want to stay. When you show back up in their office in a few months, they'll label you as someone who may be unable to keep a job, or someone who isn't serious about staying employed! The negative feedback won't do you any good, and you won't get off the merry-go-round until you understand the next step.

2. Know what you do! This goes beyond things like basic skills. Most hiring processes filter out folks not suited to perform a job at the skills level. Knowing what you do includes more personal matters, like whether you work in an office well, or if your personal style matches your boss. If you know you don't like a lot of supervision, you may want to skip the job that is run by the procedure book. If you can't stand spending all day on the phone, don't look for a long-term job in telephone customer service or sales! No matter if you need the work badly, eventually your preferences will come out and show up as negative performance on the job. Sure, sometimes you just need the money, so don't hesitate to take that stop-gap position to keep your bank balance positive. Just be sure to set a time limit and know what your expectations are for how long you think you'll be able to act the part while you're looking for a more appropriate job.

3. If you don't know what you "do," there are plenty of places to find out what really makes you tick. Get informed with psychology tests and other tools used to help people understand more about their working style and their goals. Most of these tools are available to executives, but today there are plenty of sources on the Internet that everyone can use for matching up your prospects more appropriately with what you actually can--and want--to do. You can also check with your local community college or university to find resources that will help you get on the right track.

4. Realize that stress plays an important role when you're looking for a job, and don't let it push you into making the wrong job decision. Likewise, don't take a job with thoughts of how you're going to change the way things are done. Realize a job is a job. Your employer expects you to focus on, and fulfill the role they tell you to fill. Many times we fall in love with the idea of a job, or get excited about certain parts of it. Once we get there, however, we discover that the whole job consists of about 80% tedious and trying work that doesn't excite, and only 20% of the things you actually have in mind! Carefully look at your job from the application starting point, and try to make sure through the applying and hiring process that the formula you're stuck with is the one that puts 80% of your work in the "what I love to do" category. If you don't you'll end up trying to change what you do, or you'll do great on those measures that bring you fulfillment, but die on the rest. When you're not completing, concentrating, and performing to excellence on 80 percent of your job criteria, your pink slip won't be far behind. If you can't pull off those numbers, chances are you're not in the right job.

5. Pay attention to key words and expectations in your job description, and listen to the feedback you receive on performance appraisals. We have a tendency to argue for ourselves when we hear negative feedback, but your arguments won't serve the purpose you think they will. Don't take the feedback as justification for another reason why you hate your boss or hate your job. Use it to your advantage. Realize this is direct and purposeful communication that is designed to help you stay focused on what they want you to do. If you've ever done a great job on a project, only to hear about things that didn't get done, you've fallen into this trap. Find the right job for yourself and chances are, you and your boss will both want you to stay put.