#you've heard of a bucket list this is closer to a f-

[thelastjobsearch]

COMPANY INTERVIEW BUCKET LIST

HAVE DREAM COMPANIES TO WORK FOR? BUCKET THEM!

Up until now you have been accepting jobs in whatever company has offered one, while looking at awesome potential employees from a fence. Those times are over.

Write down 20 companies you will like to work for, and narrow them down to ten companies.

Who do you want to work for? Up until now your career is based on job boards and reading job descriptions. Now we are going to turn the tables around and create an interview bucket list: Who do you want to work for?

Focus on the companies that have your respect and admiration. To find them, ask yourself two questions:

What do they do? Product, service, industry, faster, impressive, more powerful. How to do you know it and when did you learn about them. What they offer is just special and you have an emotional reaction when thinking about them and the work they do.

Where did you learn that what they do is better, faster, cheapter, awesome. At some point in your life and professional experience taught you this emotion. When you have an emotion towards a company, you are part of their tribe. Focusing on companies that give you that reaction, is a lot easier to network, approach, present yourself, write a cover letter. They are not strangers. You get them and they will get you. They wow you and you can explain why.

My Best Job Search Tip: How To Create An 'Interview Bucket List'

There are companies you admire and respect and are located in your commutable area, or in a place you desire to live.

The company's product or service is something you believe in. You can explain in detail, what experiences you've had in life that have taught you the company's product or service is worthy of your admiration or respect.

These companies work in problems you care about solving; evoke your admiration and respect, you are connecting to their purpose. They are solving a problem for their customers, then there's a good chance you are interested in solving that problem too.

When the work gets challenging or boring, the passion sustains you, makes the work more meaningful, satisfying and fun.

IMPORTANT: It's not about how good an employer they are.

Interview Bucket List isn't a list of employers you heard are great to work for. If you don't feel connected to the company's mission, then those things are merely bribes. Bribing you with money and benefits to keep you being miserably from M-F.

Once the “honeymoon period” of your new job wears off, and you get used to the benefits and perks so they no longer feel special, you end up in the very same situation you are in today: with a job you don't really like. Especially, if what they do for customers doesn't inspire or impress you. It's also like going to the used car lot and being told you can only buy what's on display - very limiting!

We're so used to going to job boards when we think it's time to look for a new position. It's automatic. It's easy. Well, that is over.

For now, just stick the ones that do something you admire and respect. Reach out to your local Chamber of Commerce and get a list of their members s so you can research what they do. Make a list of all your hobbies and interests and then use a keyword search on the Internet to find companies related to them that are located in your area, local newspaper, industry websites.

PROFILING THE UPCOMING CONTACTS

The goal is to identify five people at each company and find ways to connect with them. Learn more about the company and what it might take to earn a position there. When connecting with others, point out you aren't looking for them to help you get a job, just some insight as to what the process is like. Tell them you are researching companies and are the stage of learning about how the process works for attracting and recruiting talent.

The more people you connect with, the closer you get to your next job. You share a passion - you both admire and respect the company the connection works for. This means you could have a meaningful conversation around the company's products or services that could help you get to know each other better. This is an exchange of thoughts and ideas to build mutual trust and respect. Connecting is about looking to have interesting conversations with like-minded professionals, you'll find it easier to develop relationships with your connections.

These connections will lead to discussions about other companies (i.e. previous places the person has worked at, competitors, etc.), which you can then research and potentially add to your list.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET REFERRED?

Obviously by the company’s owner. That is a straight highway to getting the job. And if the owner is you mom, then it’s a done deal.

But in the real world, it's a friend of a friend, or in this case, a connection of a connection, who refers you to the job. All referrals are from second level connections. A person you know, knows someone who is hiring and refers you. They can easily say to the hiring manager: "My butcher recommended this guy for the job. I don't know him very well, but seems like someone worth checking out." Second level referrals are more effective than first level (family, close friend) because if it's a family then there is a lot of pressure to get you interview and hired. If it's just someone who may be a good fit but don't know, it already passed one of the first screening steps. (See “Play the Recruiter Game like a PRO”).

COMPANY INFO, CURRENT AND SPECIALLY FORMER EMPLOYEES

Companies don't share enough information about themselves so job seekers can determine if they feel connected to their business or not. And even if they do, all that information falls under “Exaggerated and Self-aggrandizing marketing nonsense”. They key is to get feedback from current employers and even much more important, from FORMER employers. They will be straight with you. Great places to find connections? LinkedIn and Glassdoor. 

Former employees are key to talk to. How was your time at the company and why are you no longer there?

Remember that for a company to be in your bucket list, you need to feel an emotional connection to the company that only comes from getting to know them on a more personal level - that can take some effort.

GOLDEN RULE OF CAREER UPGRADE

And speaking of “effort”: the golden rule is “we get out of it, as much as we put into it”. If you can't be bothered to take control of your job search and focus your efforts on the kinds of companies you'd be most excited to work for, then you don't deserve to work for them. You are a business-of-one. Your marketing efforts will determine the kind of clients (a/ka/ employers) you land. If this sounds like too much work, then just stay in your miserable job and pray you don’t get laid off.

(n.d.). (8) My Best Job Search Tip: How To Create An “Interview Bucket List” | LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-best-job-search-tip-how-create-interview-bucket-list-o-donnell/