Job Seeking: The Top 5 Myths

Do you make up various reasons or excuses as to why you didn’t get the job, such as ‘I didn’t have enough experience’ or ‘I didn’t seem intelligent enough’? Well if you do, stop right there! The chances are none of these things had anything to do with it. Here are the top 5 myths about job seeking:

1.    The person with the most brains always gets the job

Wrong! You’ll find that nowadays companies are much more interested in a worker as a whole. Being smart always helps but rest assured that is not all the employer is looking for.

An employer today wants to know that you are capable of completing a wide range of tasks. They want you to have transferrable skills, a positive attitude and a desire to learn as much as you can.

2.    Years of experience is most important

Again, wrong! The most important thing is transferrable skills. Of course there is no doubt that there will be some jobs that require you to have previous direct experience, but a lot of the time just showing that you have the capability to succeed is enough. Don’t get down if you feel you don’t have the right skills for a job. Instead focus on the skills you do have that could help you and highlight these in your resume.

3.    Dating colleagues = career failure

A typical myth. In fact this could be the complete opposite, in that dating your boss could lead to career success, not that this is being condoned. As long as you perform to your highest ability it really doesn’t matter who you date (however don’t be caught groping someone in the copy room. Those things are best saved for home!)

4.    You can only find a job if you apply online

What madness is this? Sure, online job searching is a different method but you’re still not going to get anywhere fast if your resume is not up to scratch.

You can apply for 100 jobs, online or otherwise, but if your resume is not selling yourself or your skills then you won’t get hired.

5.    Cover letters are a waste of time

Always, always, always attach a relevant cover letter to your resume. The only exception to this rule is if the employer has specifically mentioned to not send a cover letter.

A lot of the time an employer will actually read your cover letter before even glancing at your resume, and if it doesn’t stand out then there’s a high possibility your resume won’t ever be read.