5 Critical Success Factors to Getting a Job

5 Critical Success Factors to Getting a Job
By Anthony Ranieri

In 2000, I accepted a job as the Human Resources Manager for a large auto-components manufacturer. I had the undistinguished task of laying off 250 workers due to an imminent plant closure. If you speak to any person in the human resources profession they will tell you how mentally difficult it is to let people go and see their disappointment in the process.

Redundant employees express a wide range of emotion, ranging from family responsibility and financial insecurity to just losing a work life they had grown to rely on and become accustomed to. It was my job to counsel employees about how they could better cope with their personal circumstances and I hired professional workplace counselors to assist. What was to happen two weeks later was unprecedented.

After a job well done and a smooth redundancy process my managing director walked onto my office, thanked me for my efforts and made me redundant! "I needed you to complete the process first before I could let you go" he said. I felt as though I had hit a brick wall and was momentarily stunned. How was I to break the news to my wife? I had two young children; a mortgage like most of the working population and my wife did not work outside the home. This book is about how I coped with this stressful moment in my life.

I had to draw upon all my previous job-hunting experience and survival skills to get through. I can break it down into 5 key critical success factors:

1. Successful job search skills knowledge

2. Strong financial management initiatives

3. Flexible and open career re-assessment

4. Mental toughness and a strong belief system

5. Managing your current job.

Successful Job Search Skills Knowledge

Key Success Factor Number 1
Your very first objective when you have lost your job is to get another job. Now that may sound a bit straightforward but it isn't. To get another job today requires special knowledge and skill. This is because in most situations, redundancy falls during times of economic slowdown, rising unemployment resulting in fewer jobs and greater competition. Labour economists call this an "oversupply of labour" and this will cause an imbalance in the labour market favouring employers.

That's right - employers can pick and chose whomever they like and they know it. I think that competition is a key word here, because just like any other competitive scenario, nobody remembers who came second. The only winner is the person who gets that job and you're up against it in what is cruel market place.

If you have been working in an organisation for a long time and are reaching the older age category, being out of work for the first time can shock you. All of a sudden you're in a cauldron of job hunters operating in an unbalanced labour market where supply far outweighs demand. Lets face it, it will not be easy but there is always hope. Whatever you do don't become defeatist and lose faith in your abilities. Get yourself in job search mode and learn all you can about job-hunting skills. It will be necessary for you to do this in order to compete at the same level and edge closer to winning that job.

Your job search knowledge must consist of the following areas of competence:

1. Ability to tap into the hidden job market

2. Successful behavioural interview skills

3. Good letter writing ability with a marketable resume

4. Strong belief in yourself and mental stamina.

Successful job search skills knowledge is critical and this book focuses heavily on this key area. I have covered all of the above areas of competence in separate chapters so that you can easily move from one key activity to another. Your ability to network with others and perform well at interviews will be paramount. Your ability to write good covering letters and have a well-written up-to-date resume is equally important. If you need more coaching beyond the scope of the book then go out and get it.