While having employers post jobs with us helps keep the lights on, it’s not our main objective. We work very hard to provide helpful resources for job seekers. The goal is to give every advantage when searching and applying for a job in the craft beverage industry.
One of the most successful resources to date has been our free email course, Apply and Get Noticed. Hundreds of job seekers have taken our 5 email course and learned the right way to look for a job, prepare a resume, handle tough interview questions and negotiate salaries.
With so much positive feedback, we’ve decided to share portions of the course with our blog readers. You can sign up for the full course, and have each lesson sent directly to your email over the next few weeks.
How to Apply To The Right Job, The Right Way
How to Apply To The Right Job, The Right WaySo, you’re looking for a job? Do these following statements sound familiar?
I’m just wanting to keep my options open and be prepared when opportunity strikes.
This time I’m hoping to find more than just a job that will hold me over until I either figure out what I really want to do, or until something better comes along.
For most of us, our career path isn’t a straight line from first job to a fulfilling career. You may still be figuring out what that fulfilling career will be. Don’t fret, it may not be about finding your career today, but finding the right job – for right now. This is what if means to find “meaningful work.”
And the funny thing is that you don’t have to know the end destination of your career path to actually be on your path.
While some people seem to emerge from the womb with some predestined understanding of what their life’s work will be (and they seem to possess some sort of divine focus that gets them to their life’s work quicker than the rest of us) this kind of person is certainly the exception and not the norm. The truth is that most of us are at least a little uncertain about where we want our career to take us!
So what is “Meaningful Work”?
I like to think of Meaningful Work as being the confluence of several things:
- a job that has alignment with your interests and desires
- a job that plays on your strengths and talents
- a job that offers you sustainable (or better) income
- a job that challenges you in positive ways
- a job that offers growth potential
Regardless of whether you know you want to become a brewer or if you’re still uncertain what sort of wine industry career you’d like to strive for, The Right Jobs are the ones that fit all of the 5 criteria of meaningful work as outlined above.
Apply the Right Way
Now that you have clarity on what type of jobs to be on the lookout for, even if you are still uncertain where you want your career path to take you, you can begin applying.
So what’s the right way to apply for the right jobs? Quite simply, it boils down to being proactive and positioning yourself properly. Not every job is listed on a job board, and sometimes competition is so fierce that it really does help to know someone.
3 Ways to Be Proactive
1 – Network
Even a little networking can go a long way. If you’re an introvert, getting the job you want may require you to go outside of your comfort zone, but here’s some comfort: most people are pretty nice!
If you have your sights set on a certain industry or at a certain company, find ways to interact with people who can help you gain insight into the kind of job you’re interested in, who can help you understand the hiring process, and who can help introduce you to the right people.
2 – Keep a work journal
Most common advice out there says to “update your resumé regularly”. The goal with this exercise is to keep your resumé fresh and so you remember to include relevant work achievements and such.
This is pretty good advice, but there’s a better way. I recommend keeping a work journal – a living document that you update daily, weekly, or monthly as needed in order to document both the major achievements and even your more subtle work accomplishments.
Resumés have their purpose and are expected, but their function is limited. Your most precious job seeking asset are anecdotal stories that you can tell in your cover letter or during an interview to communicate to the employer that your experience relates to their needs. The best way to remember these subtleties? By keeping a work journal.
Maybe this week you fixed the company forklift or identified a safety hazard that needed to be addressed in the winery. These are things that you may not necessarily put in your resumé, but in one month, 6 months, or 1 year down the road when applying and interviewing for a position, you don’t want to forget that these little things happened.
3 – Introduce yourself to your future boss
Where networking is about meeting people who can help point you in the right direction, give advice, and potentially introduce you or refer you to a position, why not go right to the source?
When you’re in your job hunt, and once you’ve narrowed down a target industry and a few target positions that really interest you, identify a few companies who you’d like to work for and then go introduce yourself to the key decision makers.
This type of proactiveness can have a major impact on how quickly you get a job and what sort of job you’re offered. This is not about being pushy, but sometimes a simple phone call is all that it takes.
Hi, my name is ________________ and I am really interested in a position with your company. I understand that you are not hiring at the moment, but to help me better prepare for when you are, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions about your company?
The key is then to have a few good questions at the ready, establish a good rapport, and perhaps even get your resumé in their hands.
Position Yourself Properly
The last part of this lesson is about positioning yourself and your qualifications properly. Even if you lack direct experience, you can do this if you have a good understanding of your transferable skills and can adequately relate those to the employer and to the position they have available.
Your transferable skills are the more universal skills that will help you succeed in a job. Perhaps you negotiated contracts in one job and are looking to move into a sales position in another. Your negotiation skills taught you how to relate with people and taught you how to be persuasive. Key assets in any sales position.
When communicating your transferable skills in a cover letter or during an interview, you will always want to do so in a way that tells the employer how you’ll use those skills to benefit them. How will you help them achieve their business objectives if hired?
All too often, job seeker focus more on telling an employer why they want the job rather than telling the employer how well they’d do the job. Keep your focus on the employer, and you’ll position yourself well as the best candidate.
Ready to Enroll?
Was this lesson helpful? Enroll today to receive all five Apply & Get Noticed lessons sent right to your email. These tools and strategies are designed to improve your chances of getting hired. Here are the lessons you’ll receive;
- Lesson #1: Apply to the Right Jobs, the Right Way
- Lesson #2: The Resumé is Overrated, But Still Important
- Lesson #3: Get Invited to Interview Every Single Time
- Lesson #4: Answering The Tough Interview Questions
- Lesson #5: The Ugly Art of Salary Negotiation