Finding a job, and especially finding the right job, is a job in itself. Finding a job is a process that needs dedication, energy and at least a couple of hours everyday. As i am currently going through this process, i wanted to write down my findings in this post firstly for myself as a quick reference, and secondly in the hope that other people might find some useful links, tips and help in them.
I will keep updating this post in the process of looking for work.
According to Right Management, the outplacement company that was made available to us, the process of finding a job can be defined by the following steps:
- Evaluation of your strengths and how to communicate them
- Investigation of the market
- Identifying the right job for you
- Interviews and Negotiation
- Management of your career
Evaluation
The first step in finding the right job is evaluation of ones strengths. This can be done through various methods like:
- Performing a Birkman test
- Performing a balance of your professional career
- Identifying what you value in a job
Investigation
Investigation the market is the second step. By performing this step you will be able to better identify the jobs and companies you are interested in, it will allow you to identify which media (on-line job sites, local traditional newspapers) to use for your job search, as well as managing your references.
What helped me in this step was the list of great places to work in Spain for 2008 provided by the international Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc.
And regarding salaries, Michael Page perform and publish their salary studies every year on their web site.
Besides, a very important aspect of this step is making use of your network of friends and colleagues to get a better picture of the market as a whole. Networking will not only help you in the process of searching for a job via your contacts, but will also help you in understanding the market and how you with your particular experience fit into that market. I think networking is a great way of investigating the market and of actually finding the right job – and the great thing is it mostly happens by helping out other people finding people or a job.
The following are a few of my favourate networking sites:
Recommending people and obtaining references is a part of networking that is very well integrated in sites like LinkedIn, a not always easy task; Have you ever had a moment, when you wanted to recommend a colleague, but did not have the appropriate words in mind? This endorsement generator could be handy: use with care hehe – thanks for the tip Carlo.
Dont forget to use the LinkedIn tips & tricks given in this Blog all about LinkedIn.
Identifying the right Job
To me this is one of the most important steps in the process. Performing the first step of evaluation your strengths should have helped a lot in defining the right job for you according your experience and career objectives.
One of the first things to do is to find the right way of communicating your experience and know how. Obviously via getting your CV right, but also as a previous step making sure you can summarize your experience and what your are looking for in a 30 or 15 second pitch that you can add to your LinkedIn profile, use in elevators or use as an introduction in your emails.
Now that you have your 30 second pitch and CV right, you can start your job search. These are a few of the sites i used.
Job Search
Professional Recruitment Consultancies
Last week I spend some time in Holland visiting family in my home town Noordwijk as well as friends in Leiden and Haarlem. Although the change of weather (around 19 degrees, cloudy and drizzling) was quite a shock coming from Spain it was also nice to get away from the heat in Madrid.
ok, writing only just now about 
Hablando de voces. Voces celestes, voces Africanas. Ya hace varios años escuché el álbum Moussolou de 
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