Everyone’s journey to work is different and embarking on a job search can be both exciting and overwhelming.
Whether you’re a fresh graduate or seeking a career change, it’s essential to take some time for self-reflection before diving straight into your job search.
By asking yourself a series of important questions, you can gain clarity and ensure you are on the right path towards finding the right job for you.
Below we explore 6 essential questions that will guide you through this process:
1. Do you know and understand the reasons you want to work?
Asking yourself why you want to work and understanding your motivation for getting a job will go a long way to guiding you to the right path on your job search journey. Is it to provide for your family? To have a positive impact on the lives of others? Perhaps you want to expand your skills and experience, or maybe you just want to make new social connections. Taking some time to answer these questions will help to shape your blueprint for job search and career building success.
2. Do you know what type of work you are looking for?
Taking a few minutes to write down your skills, qualifications, and experience, as well as leisure time activities will help inform which jobs your general skill set is suited to. Don’t forget to include the things you love to do, your hobbies and pastimes, as these will ensure your job goals are also in line with activities you are passionate about.
3. Based on your skills and experience do you know what you can offer an employer?
Completing a skills analysis like the one we do on the EmployAbility Program is a really important step in the job search process. This allows you to clearly identify your skills against the ones in demand in the target job description. Once you have defined what you can offer, the next step is to learn how you can market yourself to the employer, which is another topic covered in our program.
Learn more about leveraging your transferable skills here.
4. Are you mentally prepared for the challenges of finding a job?
The job market can be a tough place to find yourself, so we really recommend that you are prepared for the mental impact from setbacks such as rejection letters and declined interviews. Help and support from family and friends as well as professional counsellors and employment coaches can really help job seekers maintain a balanced and positive mindset in a challenging job search environment.
Find out more about cultivating the right mindset to succeed in your job search here.
5. Are you aware of the challenges you may face and your rights as a person with disability?
Legislation is in place to support the rights of people living with disability in general, but also specifically when it comes to employment. Knowing your own rights as well as the responsibilities of employers when it comes to recruiting people with disability can give you added confidence when submitting your job application or attending an interview that your disability should not determine whether you are successful or not for the job you’re apply to.
6. Do you know how much time and effort is needed to successfully secure a job in today’s job market?
People often underestimate the effort required when it comes to securing that dream job, so our advice is to treat your job search as a full-time job in itself. This means creating a daily routine around the main job search activities of finding vacancies, writing resumes, and tailoring cover letters for each application. It’s rarely the case that your first application is a successful one, so being organised means your activities will be focused, enabling you to produce more applications of higher quality. In the job search game, the ideal approach is quality and quantity when it comes to job applications!
If you’re struggling to answer any of these questions, don’t stress. The EmployAbility team are here to help you find the answers to these questions, prepare for and search for work and connect you with disability inclusive employers.
Click here to register your interest and someone from our team will contact you to discuss opportunities further!