There is more to consider when looking for a job other than simply landing one. At times, you might just need to get any job just to survive, but if you’re not in that position (or even if you are), you’ll want to make sure you fully understand the role you’re applying for, what you can expect to get paid and so on.
This article will be focusing on some things to consider when applying for a job, so you go into it being more aware and more educated regarding the job position and the company you’ll be working for.
#1 – What Are the Pay Rates?
A lot of people don’t like to ask this question when in a job interview, so it pays to do a bit of research beforehand. Everyone should be asking themselves, “how much should I get paid?” When applying for a position, receiving money in exchange for work is one of the main reasons anyone wants a job in the first place.
Rates of pay will be largely dependent on your age, the job position and can also be affected by your level of experience or expertise. By law, there are minimum pay rates in Australia, so you’ll want to check out what those are. This way, you’ll have an idea of what you can expect to be getting paid if you do get the job and be able to check that your wages are correct when you start getting paid.
#2 – Do Some Research On the Company
It can be a wise idea to do a little research on a company before applying for a job with them, or prior to your job interview. For example, if you are interested in working at Best Buy, you should know the company and learn more about what they do. Aside from that, it would help if you also prepared how to answer common Best Buy interview questions.
After doing some research, you’ll also have a better idea of whether it’s a business you think you would like to work for or not. Don’t just browse their company website. See if you can dig up independent information about the business.
#3 – Is Your Resume Up To Date?
You’ll want to make certain your resume is up to date and neat and tidy before making a job application. It’s also wise to tailor both your resume and your cover letter to the position you are applying for. Generic cover letters are obvious and a potential employer will spot these immediately. Take the time to write a unique cover letter that shows you are genuinely interested in the position and include everything you can think of that’s relevant in your resume. Get some professional assistance with resume writing if you need to.
#4 – Do You Have the Necessary Skills, Experience and Qualifications?
While it can be possible to land a job when you don’t exactly meet all the necessary criteria, a successful placement is going to be far less likely than if you apply for a position where you do have the required skills, training and experience.
Most advertised job vacancies will list what the employer is looking for in a potential employee. In order for you not to be wasting your time, you’ll need to tick off most of the things on that list and highlight them in both your cover letter and your resume.
#5 – What Are the Work Hours?
The hours you’ll be working are not always advertised in job vacancies, although sometimes you can guess what they’ll be due to a business’s operating hours. If you’re looking for a job where regular overtime is a possibility, does the business open for more than 8 hours a day? If it does, then there’s the possibility of overtime as well as potentially having flexible work hours.
For many people, the hours they work on the job are important for a work/life balance, so this is something you’ll want to know about, either before applying, or ask about during the job interview.
The Wrap
If you do some research and ask yourself some questions before applying for particular jobs, you can save yourself and the potential employer a lot of time.
