Steps in looking for a "first" job

Yey, this would be my first blog post as inspired by a friend who would be graduating this March 2011. So for graduating students, also for those who recently graduated and those "not so fresh" graduates, here are my few tips:

1. IDENTIFY potential employers first and rank them. To start, I recommend listing down companies you really want to work for. Aim high, don't just settle for second-tier companies. In the first place, you are not contacting them or walking in yet, we are still on the stage of just listing down your favorite companies, usually those you really look up to.


In my case, my first priority were Citibank, HSBC, and all those other multinational banks and companies like HP and IBM. Next in line were BPI, BDO, Metrobank, Globe, Smart, usually those top local companies.

2. SELF-ASSESSMENT. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, if possible do a SWOT analysis of yourself in order for you to identify in which field you really belong. In this stage, a lot of factors should be considered like your undergraduate course, your school, your academic and community achievements, your experiences, your KSA (knowledge, skills, abilities), your emotional intelligence, and lastly, SELF-CONFIDENCE (how kapal you are in believing that you could land the best job in the best company).

I finished a computer/business course from a "top" school (you know what I mean), average achievements (nothing I could really boast about), more or less 2 years of work experience in sales, IT and customer service, okay EQ, and an OVERFLOWING self-confidence (which I think is my only asset).

3. Job MATCHING. After identifying the companies you wish to work for and having done assessing your personal qualifications, it should be the right time to match it with the job openings of the companies you listed.

In MATCHING, since I have experience in IT, sales and customer service, I think the best job for me is something like sales or service in the IT or telecommunications industry. But then, my KSA is not really that technical, so more on the business sales and service side, I decided to be in banking. Citibank and HSBC were my first priorities, but since my "kapal" meter was not that high that time, I decided to just settle in a company where I could consider as my stepping stone and would eventually boost my self-confidence and my "kapal" meter to read high.

4. POSITIONING. Okay so you have already identified the company, your qualifications, as well as the industry or field that you think is best for you. Now is the time to postion yourself in the company based on your own judgement and "kapal" factor. Do you want to enter the company from the bottom as a "rank and file" employee, or you think you are qualified enough to be in middle management or supervisory role?

With BPI, there were a lot of options that I could choose from related to my chosen field. I can start as teller and work my way up (which is hard), I could easily be a Phonebanker, because I had call center experience, yet I decided to be a part a Management Training program because it is not a "staff" position (It might be slow going up), it is not an "officership" role either (I think I was not ready yet that time), it's more of a program that trains special hires to become future officers of the bank. So if you think you are capable, there are a lot of good companies out there who really trains people, even fresh graduates, so grab those opportunities.

5. So you're accepted already! After gaining the much needed experience and raising that "kapal" meter to high, it's time to GO BACK to step 1 and REPEAT the steps. (I'm currently on my second lap, step 3!)

Good luck!

Source: http://liquidrich.blogspot.com/2010/10/steps-in-looking-for-first-job_22.html