Go back to Job Search Prep Syllabus.

I love open book tests.

Absolutely love them. But not for the reason that you’re probably thinking. Open book tests are almost always more difficult. Instead of testing you on memorizing information, they test you on how you think. I like to think. When all that you have to do to succeed is memorize, it levels the playing field too much. It makes it too hard to stand out. I like standing out, and hopefully at this point in the course, you do too.

There’s another reason that I like prefer book tests: life is open book. The skills that you’ve developed in over a decade of schooling – studying and memorization – aren’t going to go very far in your first job. Don’t get me wrong, the ability to recall important information instantly can be helpful in nearly any job, but the ability to quick parse information and gain meaning from it is far more important. Open book testing emphasizes skills that will translate into the future.

So what does your job search have to do with open book tests?

Making Your Job Search “Open Book”

Well, your job search is a lot like an open book test. Although in-person job interviews aren’t open book, almost everything else during the process is: searching for jobs, writing resumes, writing cover letters, phone interviews, and even the actual job.

Unfortunately, nobody has written a book that will take you through your job search process. Yes, there are countless career advice books, guides from The Vault and Princeton Review, and other resources that can act as “style guides,” but none of them contain the information that you actually need to land a specific job. You need to know detailed information about the company, the company’s needs, and, of course, yourself to show that you’re the right fit.

If you want the luxury of making your job search “open book,” then you’re going to have to write the book for yourself. To do that you need to develop extremely strong Research skills.

Luckily for you, online research is one of my specialties – especially when applied to the job search.

Why Research Will Open Up Your Job Search

Once you have Attitude, Mental Preparedness, and Creative Thinking squared away, you should be coming up with all kinds of ideas about what you actually do. That’s awesome. That was the goal. We wanted you to open your mind and to see what’s actually out there and what you’re actually interested in. If it’s not happening yet, then maybe you should revisit the first 3 Foundations.

So, you have lots of ideas. Ideas are essential, but they’re also a dime a dozen. Great entrepreneurs don’t succeed because of a brilliant idea, they succeed because they make those ideas happen. To make your ideas happen and to turn them into the jobs, you need to research.

Research will:

• Help you uncover companies’ stories and get familiar with their objectives
• Give you a way to show employers that you are capable of using technology
• Find job openings that other job seekers might not be able to find
• Get inside information on the people at the company that you need to know
• Signal your interest and show that you’re smart
• Find out whether a company will actually be a good fit for you
• Prepare you for the communications and conversations that are essential to your landing the job

We’re going to cover all of these things in this Foundation. There’s going to be a lot of hands-on homework in this Foundation, so we’re going to give you a break for this lesson.

Jobs Near You

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One response to “Research As a Verb and a Skill | Foundation 4 – Lesson 1”

1. sia says:

   April 29, 2009 at 11:35 am

   Looks good!

   Reply