Things to Consider when Identifying the Perfect Job
During your process of identifying the perfect job, there are some things you may want to keep in mind. Although you are going to identify what is important to you it’s also important to be realistic in your expectations. Some of the areas in which people tend to place the most focus and expect too much are listed below. Look at the items on your list and see how it compares to the items on this list.
Salary
Salary is one of the biggest areas where people have a tendency to expect too much. They tend to think they are worth more than they really are to a new company, and that often causes them to lose the position. Be realistic when you identify your salary requirements, keeping in mind that now many employers are not hiring at all, so getting an interview gives you an edge over others. Once you get offered the position, knowing how to negotiate salary will also help you to meet your salary expectations.
Employee Benefits
Although this is an area of major concern, it is also one that many people tend to overstate when identifying their perfect job. Very few employers today are paying the full cost of medical insurance and other benefits, so to include that as an item on your list of criteria for the perfect job is ludicrous. What you need to do is rephrase it to state medical insurance at a reasonable cost.
Vacation and Sick Time
Do not lump the two of these together because not all companies offer sick time. In fact some companies actually lump the two together and call it various terms or they may include sick time as part of personal time or include both vacation and sick time as one benefit. You also don’t want to expect to take vacation right away or have two weeks leave available immediately. Although some companies do allow two weeks’ vacation after six months, many companies still only offer one week during the first year.
Retirement Plan or RRSP’s
Many companies today are getting away from the retirement plan and staying with the RRSP’s. This is reasonable to expect from your perfect job but do not attempt to identify what you expect from the plan since it is regulated by the government leaving the company itself very little leeway in what it can offer. The only difference you may find among companies is the funds they offer and percentage they contribute for each employee.
Where to Find the Perfect Job
If you’re seeking the perfect job, it’s impossible to say exactly where you will find it. The key is to take your list of requirements and look at the available job postings to find the closest match. You are not likely to find something that will match your list exactly because most people tend to look for something more than what is possible in this labour market. For example, everyone would love to find a job that has a great retirement plan, but that might not happen right away, therefore you want to scale that down a bit into something that is more realistic.
Something you should remember when you are job seeking is that less than 20% of jobs are listed in the newspaper. Most employers have a file of potential applicants or look toward other applicants through mutual friends or acquaintances or even current employees. The key is to network, network and network some more. Find a mentor in your field and ask questions.
On the other hand there are many employers today who refuse to accept resumes unless they are actually hiring. Most employers today are asking to see resumes in their mail or inboxes before they will even schedule an interview. How do you beat the game when you are up against potentially thousands of applicants? One thing that many applicants fail to do in today’s economy is making a list of the places they have submitted resumes so they can follow up on it’s status. Never attempt to rely on your memory because several weeks later you will not be able to remember where you sent your resume.
Of course job posting sites such as Aspire-Canada are available and many employers today make use of these sites when searching for new applicants. By filtering your search you have a better chance of finding the job you seek and seeing if it fits within the scope of your perfect job before you submit your resume. This method makes it convenient for employer and job seeker and allows both to see what is available before they request an interview.