Connect and Contextualize

My wife managed to get a full-time job as an office administrator for a charity company here in London, and I’m really glad she’s happy with it. To be honest, I was giving her all sorts of advice about buffing up her LinkedIn profile, articulating herself clearly, choosing a field she wants to invest in, and so on. After all, if it works for me, why not her?

I learnt that there are many ways into a job. Maybe we’re so hung up about the right things to do that we forget that there are no real guarantees in job-seeking. It really is all about people getting along. My wife went for two interviews, and she initially thought she really wanted the job at the first interview, but after meeting the company, she changed her mind.

Similarly, after 300-odd participants, my wife got hired on the same day by the second company because apparently her IT skills put her above par, not that she’s a certified technician or anything. I think she was a good fit for the company too – the people there seem to like her. So, note to self – context is important.

A good fit

What is a good fit? There are a lot of factors, but not all of them apply in all job situations. Maybe you attempt to connect with stereotypes (geeks in the IT industry, female nurses in healthcare, whatever) from afar, but it’s easy to assume yourself into inability – not a good thing when you want to be motivated to apply for jobs. My wife had bouts of depression when no one was responding to any of her applications.

It’s not a healthy way to access jobs purely on guesses about an industry, about a job… simply because most people hire based on compatible values (Kirstof, 1996). That’s funny because when you’re out of a job and looking hard, it seems impossible to find one, you’d think that a right fit sounds like a pipe dream. But companies look for compatible people, so it’s just a matter of trying until you find a good fit.

I’m not saying that all jobs are ideal when a company extends their arm and invites you to join them, but everything that leads to that point should be authentic. You don’t want to fake your way into a job and realize it wasn’t what you wanted in the first place.

21st century hasn’t gotten to everyone yet

Not every company feels comfortable about hiring through the internet. I’m sure it’s great to get 100 times more applicants than those good ol’ snail mail days, but seriously – who wants to sift through a thousand CVs from applicants who are potentially ‘having a feel’? But they have to.

I’m in the IT industry, so LinkedIn works great for me. But in this topsy-turvy economy, the industries that are holding up well in the US right now are healthcare and education, amongst a few other, more standard ones. But not everyone’s into the whole web thing yet, and I think companies are still adjusting to the pervasiveness and the flexibility of the web, which can be a good and bad thing.

Bad: it’s harder to stand out.

Good: You can get a good deal somewhere along the long tail.

Maybe it’s just better to focus on your strengths so you stand out to a company that really fits well with you and vice versa.

References:

• Kristof, A.L. (1996) Person-organization fit: an integrative review of its conceptualisations, measurement, and implications. Personnel Psychology, 39, pp. 1-49
• http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858788,00.html
• http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/04/pf/forecast_job5.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008110709