Why do they call this a “JOB HUNT?”
Photo by MacJewel
I’ve been thinking about why we call searching for a job a “hunt.” I wonder who first came up with the idea that landing a job was similar to downing an 8-point deer or like a lion catching a gazelle? Then I started to thing about how the action of hunting for prey is similar to hunting for a job. PLEASE DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT USING A GUN OR A LION WHILE HUNTING FOR A JOB! NEITHER WILL HELP!
So the similarities really are there. How does a person or animal go about hunting for food? They have to be smarter than their prey. They have to surprise them, using cunning and trickery, and basically not doing what the prey expects them to do. You see, the really big deer or gazelles have been around for a good number of years—that’s how they got so big. They’ve seen hunters come and go—the ones who were foolish and did just what all the other hunters did. Those hunters each sat up in a tree with a coffee mug and some binoculars and waited. Every now and then they would look around, but generally they just waited. The deer and the gazelle knew that they were there, but they chose to avoid these lazy hunters.
So which hunters got the deer? Well, they were the ones who set up the perfect situation. They got a few of their buddies to go for a walk, giving them specific instructions how to make a 2-mile-wide circle and then converge inward toward the hunter to spook the deer out into the open. They used the newest technology, including GPS and cell phones. These hunters had all the right skills to do the job, having practiced and studied. Importantly, they made themselves look right and smell right so that they didn’t offend the deer. There was no way out! That deer was just plain outsmarted.
Now, it’s time to start the hunt!
1. Stop sitting around staring at your computer all day long. Go to work! ACTION IS THE FIRST STEP TO SUCCESS!
2. Don’t be so full of yourself that you try and go it alone. It’s so much harder that way, and unless you’re the best in the world at what you do, you’re not good enough to do it this way. Join LinkedIn and find or make friends with people who work at the organization you’re targeting. Network to find your “hunting buddies.” Influence them to help you!
3. Be skilled and talented at what you do. Don’t apply for jobs beyond your experience or abilities. This wastes everyone’s time and is depressing for you. I’m okay if you stretch it one step up, but if you made $50k last year, you really don’t need to apply for a $250k job. Use all of the tools available. Network on Twitter or FaceBook. Don’t just call a company and ask if they have any openings. Go down there with a box of doughnuts or whole wheat bagels and introduce yourself!
4. Make sure that your tools are good—your resume and presentation. Have your friends conduct practice interviews, buy a new shirt, and for heaven’s sake go easy on the cologne/perfume.
5. Finally, be cunning and sly and smart. Don’t lie, cheat, or steal, but do things that are unique and in line with who you are to stand out from the sea of others whose resumes look just like yours.
Best of LUCK in you job hunt!
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It all works!! You have to be aggressive to find the perfect job!