Fresher’s Guide to Job Search in Recession
Jobs in recession – as most believe – are definitely not easy to find: For both senior professionals and freshers. At a lot of times the reason is quite simple : The companies want to cut cost – in all ways including cutting down salaries/ firing/ reducing hiring.
For people with experience, its difficult find a job because they can’t find enough offers that fit with their current profile and pay structure… but for Freshers its totally different… Just because many won’t know which profile they should be applying for, and which one might be best etc. etc.
My Guidelines for Freshers is Quite simple: Try harder !!!… (Though you will have the points listed.) … Just go ahead and go through the points below. They should definitely be of help:
- Correct Resume and Proper Cover letters: Ideally one is supposed to make customized cover letters and resumes specific to the company and profile they are applying to. And this the best time to be ideal with these !!
. Make sure that you have a proper resume, which tells the reader that you are fit for the job you are applying to rather than just a resume that lists everything that you’ve done so far in your college. And also a cover letter that gives a brief overview of the relevant work so far/ relevant qualities that you possess for the job. Believe me, these aren’t difficult to write, once you start trying it out. Vault.com has pretty good sample cover letters and resumes for your case. Microsoft Word also has good set of Sample Resumes for download. Also, some small things like: naming your resume by your full name, sending a .pdf version of the resume and a cover letter that isn’t too generalized for the company (which gives away that you’ve copy pasted everything)… if taken care off, might give an impression that is good enough for a HR to ask you to come for an interview/exam etc. Believe me a lot many times freshers don’t even care about this. (Tip: Go through the “desired profile” pasted on the site. Use words from it in your cover letter) - Communication: There is nothing wrong in making a few calls to company asking for the status of your application or asking to update your contact information etc. It often helps, esp. in the case of Start Ups/ Small firms, where interest in a company is all that matters! Apply online on websites, send mails to HRs, and make calls to companies to know if they might be interested in you, on the next day or so. If you have alumni from your college in the company, this is the best time to get in touch them.
- Searching Jobs!!: Though above two are important in converting the job offers at hand, knowing where to find jobs is where you could get ahead in the race. Believe me : 1. There is nothing wrong in asking for help , and 2. Contacts Matter!. There are still companies that would love to hire talent, and smart kids if they find them affordable (Mostly Start ups).
- Also make sure you have your resume up on Job-Sites, Naukri.com, Monsterindia, Shine.com etc. Naukri.com is still the best job site that the world has to offer you. A lot of big companies hire through Naukri, and a lot of Job Consultancies search for Candidates through Naukri. So make sure you have Naukri Profile. Shine did not work that well with me, but you can give it a try.
- Drop your resumes at Job Consultants in your cities… There are dozens of those in every city, and they are free to use. All you might want to do is to drop a hard copy of resume at their office. You might find a lot of BPO consultancies, but don’t loose hope.
- Be aware of and apply for Govt. jobs that are listed on the FreshersWorld.com . Don’t be a fool like me : who looked down upon ‘Govt. Jobs’ – you might have gotten rid of a lot headache/heartache and tension if you were in one of these.
- On Campus Jobs!!! Don’t ever let go any of those. They are easiest and are the only way that would hire fools like me and you for good pays. Once missed, you don’t have a easy way back.
- Also, add your email id to the job email lists of your college/ society/ locality etc. For example, for IT BHU specifically: itbhu_jobs@yahoogroups.com and for IITs in general: IIT-Global-Jobsearch@yahoogroups.com
- Time to get in touch with friends: Find your seniors, family, friends of Siblings etc. who might be good positions to offer you leads, if not help.
- Make sure you have your profiles on LinkedIn and Facebook professionally styled. Not all HRs go through the profile, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people try to get more information about you when the job offers a good paycheck.
- Remember for you (i.e. if you are fresher) : No job is bad. Finding a job could be everything.
Some lessons you might learn after you start working:
1. No job is perfect, No Company is perfect. And sometimes, money isn’t every thing. Though it is exciting at first to earn yourself, the money you make may not always keep you happy. For a few, often what you do is also what might keep you going. So trying a job that could reap long career benefits than one that pays good only initially, might be the smart thing to do.
2. Qualifications are good. Further education isn’t a bad option. Try adding value to your resume by learning more of Skills/ Technologies / Courses . Remember there are a lot of talented youngsters who are ready to accept any job they get. You can look for more career resources at PagalGuy.com. (Be it MBA/ GRE/ Masters or any other course/ Diploma.)
3. Be aware of the facts that there are companies that would take undue advantage of candidates in Recession: Offering less package, asking for bonds, more commitments etc.
4. There are always better options available.
5. Job isn’t everything!!!
6. Make most use of your time. Time is non renewable.
7. Backup Options are life savers: Try making good contacts, and save as much money as possible. Remember you are not born to Bill Gates/ Tatas / Birlas/ Premjee and no matter what you could do, you cannot be the next Miss India, and then think of jumping into Bollywood. (At least in my case.)
0. You would be missing your friends and college.
Good luck with your search.
P.s. Feel free to ask for suggestions and drop comments.
