The One Thing Every Job Seeker Should Know

I've been a journalist/freelance writer for most of my working life. But while freelancing a few years ago, I helped support myself by working as a temp, which eventually led - after much research and networking and commitment - to working IN an employment office as someone who assigned temporary employees to job assignments. And THAT finally led me to managing a branch office of an international personnel firm.

So I know a little bit about recruiting employees and hiring them and which applicants we wanted to hire/help and which ones eventually become problems and how the world of hiring works.

And the thing that I learned very quickly was something that most job seekers forget - or never knew in the first place - that the job search is not about them.

It's about the employer.

All employers have "problems." They need to make sales. They need to organize their files. They need their budgets balanced. They need people to drive forklifts. They need someone who can write grants.

Have the skills an employer needs and let the employer know that you're there to solve her problems and you've taken a huge step in finding your next job.

But so few of us know this little gem - that it's not about us. We don't learn it in school. Mom and Dad and Grandma certainly don't tell us. Instead our whole culture tells us we have a right to a fulfilling job/career. That we should ask for the best salary we can get. That we should enjoy the hours we spend at work.

And we should.

But when we're looking for work we must remember to focus on the employer's needs, not ours. How can your skills and experience solve an employer's problems? Have you sold more widgets for a former or current employer than any other salesperson? Did you reorganize a department to be more efficient, thus saving your employer money? (And if you did so without having to lay anyone off, double kudos to you!) Do you grants receive funding? Can you train others to drive forklifts safely, thus saving your employer from having to bring in an outsider to do train - which money saved in his register?

You get the idea - how do you bring value to an employer?