The Job Search…job hunt…searching for a job…whatever way you say it, sometimes when you spend so much time job searching it is hard to find the wood for the trees.

In this economic climate it has become more a case of ‘get a job’ rather than choosing a career. Whilst TheEmployable appreciates that many of us cannot afford to turn down a job, whatever the circumstances, these pointers may be helpful when you consider the criteria for your job search, or if you see a job advertised and want to be sure it is for you, even before you even apply.

How far are you prepared to travel?

Let’ put it this way. There is no point in you applying for a job that is near on impossible to get to. Knowing your luck, this will be the one job that you get shortlisted to interview for, and then it will be only at the interview itself that you realise that the 2 buses and 20 minute walk, may mean you will have no chance of being on time every day to start work. This is not to say, don’t travel, as realistically this may be a reality, but also know your own limitations and be realistic on how long a 2 hour plus journey every morning would mean you stay committed to the role. So when you start your job search and find a job you like the sound of, take travel into consideration. If you have a car, this helps with the geographical area that you can cover, but also be aware that running a car is not getting any cheaper either.

What is the working culture like?

My first interview after University was a City job working in Media Sales. After the rather embarrassing team role play, we all trundled off to the pub, where the sales team told us all about the young, cool workforce who would go out drinking in town, most Friday nights. With their near plastic looking suits and slicked hair, the thought of drinking with this team put me off. I was not offered a job anyhow, but I wish had known how to find out about the working culture, before I had applied. The joy of social media, Twitter, Facebook etc, means that doing some research on the company prior to an interview is easier than you may think.

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