🥼💼 5 Job hunting tips you wished you knew in your first year

🥼💼 新生看过来！这5个求职技巧越早知道越好

在澳洲求职，尤其是作为一名初入大学校园的中国留学生，往往既兴奋又忐忑。求职竞争激烈，加上对当地职场文化尚不熟悉，想要找到理想工作并不容易。与其等到临毕业才“临阵磨枪”，不如从现在开始就慢慢积累，为将来铺路。提前掌握以下这五个要点，下次投递简历和面试时，你就能胸有成竹、自信满满！

Arrive Thrive SucceedHarrison H

🥼💼 पहले साल में जानने लायक 5 आसान जॉब टिप्स

आज के आर्थिक अस्थिर माहौल में नौकरी पाना वाकई चुनौतीपूर्ण हो सकता है। इसीलिए, यदि आप अभी अपनी पढ़ाई की शुरुआत में हैं, तो ये 5 ज़रूरी बातें आपके अवसरों को बेहतर बना सकती हैं।(खासकर यदि आप अपनी पढ़ाई के शुरुआती दौर में हैं)।

Arrive Thrive SucceedSaanvi J

Finding jobs can be very difficult especially in an economically turbulent time. To help you maximise your chances, here are a few key things for you to consider and work towards (especially if you are early in your studies).

The 5 tips are:

• Employers usually hire for results, not potential
• Employers hire people who can understand their business
• Employers will choose someone they can get along with
• Employers will reject you for lots of reasons, don't give up
• Employers value social validation

Employers usually hire for results, not potential

In an ideal world, employers want someone who can come into the role delivering what they need with 100% certainty. Since we don't live in that world, the next best thing is showing your potential employer what you've done previously and your thinking process to achieve that outcome. Whichever mediums you use, you are looking to answer the employer's questions of "What have you done before that is relevant to this role?" and "How and why did you do it this way?". That doesn't mean potential is irrelevant, it just means potential is a nice-to-have.

You are (thankfully) not a slave, so if you choose to leave for a higher-paying job elsewhere, then your employer will lose a crucial employer just when you are at your most productive (which is when the employer can make back their investment in you and generate a profit from your work). Telling your employer your intentions also doesn't help, because people lie and/or change their mind all the time and they can't read your mind.

Thus, employers are more likely to look for someone who can deliver results immediately (or at least within a few weeks), so it's in your best interest to show that you can deliver results as soon as you start.

Employers hire people who can understand their business

Even if you're the world's foremost expert in a particular field, in order for you to justify your salary at a company you have to demonstrate that you can complete work the employer wants you to do.

In order for you to do that, you have to understand their business needs, which requires you to:

• Listen carefully to their needs/problems.
• Take plenty of notes.
• Ask the right questions.
• Note actions you need to take and
• Confirm desired outcomes.

Sometimes this means keeping your mouth shut, and other times this means you need to ask uncomfortable questions. Knowing when to do what is a difficult skill that you develop with experience, but in general you should:

• Listen before asking questions.
• Ask questions when it's your area of expertise.
• Make sure you get the answers you need to do your job.

Being able to demonstrate the above in your portfolio will show potential employers how you can work with them and make sure the work they give you will be completed to the quality they expect.

Employers will choose someone they can get along with

Assuming everyone in consideration is competent enough for the role, being someone others can get along with can often seem like something outside of your control. While there are some aspects that are like this (eg. you didn't grow up in the same place as the interviewer), there are many aspects of getting along with others that you can control and slowly refine. Here are a few key aspects:

• Taking a (respectful) interest in others - This includes active listening, sincere compliments, respecting boundaries, respecting the relationship "distance" you have with others and being generally considerate of their needs. No one will like you if you take no interest in them.
• Respecting the autonomy of others - Everyone wants others to trust them to make day-to-day decisions by themselves, so respecting their ability to do so is crucial. Micromanaging others is usually not a great way to build relationships, the only exception is if you (nicely) offer your help and they accept it. If they do not, leave them to their work.
• Maintain good vibes - No one likes a constantly stressful workplace, and if talking to you is too stressful, intense or depressing, then you'll find few people willing to engage with you anywhere (inside or outside the workplace). So keep things light, bring a dash of humour and leave the existential conversations to your closest friends and family.
• Be sincere, straightforward and gentle - Whether you have a disagreement with someone or someone isn't reading your hints very well, saying something directly but gently can save you lots of wasted time and energy. Sometimes a simple "I don't know about X, but I'm always happy to learn from the team" could mean the difference between a return interview and a rejection email.
• Be optimistic and positive - Don't fake positivity, people can tell when you don't mean it. Instead, place value on the positive aspects of something, and find ways to address the problems presented to you. This way you can do your part to maintain team morale as well as focus your efforts on solving problems. The worst thing a manager wants is someone who focuses on the negative and gives up before they even try.
• Be helpful towards others - Don't just do this for your managers, do this for your team mates and people younger / less experienced than you as well. During an interview, showing your willingness to help others (eg. volunteering record) is a great differentiator between those who are competent and helpful and those who are merely competent.
• Adapt to the "folkways" of the employer - Are they younger and more trendy? Are they more formal and process-driven? Are they more multi-cultural or mono-cultural? Doing a LinkedIn search of the people who work in the hiring team and what they are posting can give you a sense of what they value, how they communicate and how they might work together.

Employers will reject you for many reasons, and it's usually them and not you

While it may be tempting to focus on the possibility that you are rejected because of your perceived lack of cultural fit, the reality is that companies may reject you for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to):

• Too many applications for the same role.
• The hiring manager missed your application while compiling them.
• Your application didn't stand out amongst the 100+ applications whilst the hiring manager was putting together a shortlist in the 1h they had to do this.

The point is, unless they tell you specifically what you're missing, don't take the rejection personally. Keep working on your portfolio and keep connecting with others while volunteering or networking, because that's the only way to improve your chances.

Employers value social validation

As a summary of all of the above, having people who can vouch for your results, ability to understand business needs, ability to get along with others, and tenacity and grit is vital for your ability to convince a company to hire you. While most people have someone who can vouch for their character, the key differentiator you need to present is someone who can vouch for you who also works in a similar industry and/or position as the hiring manager (or higher). Always remember, the more certainty you can present to the hiring manager, the easier it is for them to decide to hire you (or not).

I hope this article has helped you in your job hunting journey!