How do you get a job? Well, I will be honest and say that I don’t know. I have never been on a real professional setting before. I’ve always been in academia. Since, I do not want to stay in academia after my research, I need to understand how to get a job now. So, I’ve been reading books, read blogs about interviews and watched videos. Here are the 5 things you need to do and know in order to find a job, according to the book ‘So good they can’t ignore you’ by Cal Newport and the talk ‘7 habits of highly effective artists‘ By Andrew Price.
Chose the career for you
Here, the most important thing is to know thyself. Experiment, try things and determine what skills you possess. Are you a natural leader? Innovative? An animator? A producer, in what? What fascinate you? Etc. When you finish questioning your existence and seeing the things you do differently compared to your peers, chose the job that is for you. You might not like it yet, but you will. In fact, the more we learn about a topic, the more we became fascinated and passionate about it. Follow the flow of your knowledge and keep your eyes open to see the different opportunities that are actually available within an industry that people outside cannot see.
Build a career capital
First of all, you need to have someone to look up to. If it is too difficult to pick a person, pick two, five, whatever works for you. Study them. Look at their background, their experience, their area of expertise. Then, analyze job posts, see the skills employers are looking for. Master them. This is your career capital. Very few people are willing to hire someone who is only motivated or passionate about a job. They need skill. Know what it is, learn it, and master it. This is all you need to enter the job market.
Deliberate practice
When you are in the industry, you need to grow and improve. There are different ways to do so but the most efficient way is to practice deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is mostly used for creative jobs such as musician, designers, ballet dancers, etc. Repeating a task over and over does not qualify as deliberate practice. It is about finding your weakest area and work on it. It’s about going a little bit farther than you can, stretching yourself a little bit every day until you can do a splits.
Feedback
Feedback is important when you try to improve yourself. You need someone unbiased to look at your work and criticize it. It helps you find your weakness but also, the area you are good at, and god knows how a little bit of compliment is welcome when you are working on your craft.
Patience
It’s possible and likely that you won’t see any improvement for some time. Do not despair, be patient. Remember that if you stop now and turn to another subject, it will demean all the hard work you’ve already done. Plus, you might face the same problem next time. So, persevere, do not quit.
I have began to use those advice in my life. I’ve already chosen what I my job will be about. Apart from that, I am still in the case 0, learning the skills I need to enter the job market and practicing deliberate practice. I also need to be brave enough to seek feedback and face the reality: I suck, but that’s ok, I can change that by practicing deliberately. Also, I need to be patient and look forward for the day I will begin to see actual progress.
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