A Killer Tip to Get the Job You Want

I was watching How I Met Your Mother Season 4 Episode 14 (spoilers ahead) and it's mostly about Robin trying to get a job in 7 days or she will be deported out of the country. Robin had been jobless for months during that episode and she had already been to countless auditions to get a job in the news industry.

Every time she auditions, she comes home complaining about how other auditionees got more experience than her or how they come from bigger companies or higher positions in other parts of the country. Even though she was anchor at the local news channel, she found that she couldn’t compete with many others in the same field.

Lesson # 1: There’s always someone better than you. So don’t slack!

Even when you come from the Top 3 universities in the country, even if you’re president of every organization you’ve joined or even if you’re the creamiest of the crop, never ever slack off during job hunting. Don’t underestimate the power of others to be more awesome than you already are. Which brings us to:

Lesson # 2: Stand Out!

Or in Barney’s vocabulary, BE AWESOME! Don’t just be good or excellent, be awesome! You see, I’ve been an A student ever since. I got good grades and all but here’s the thing: nobody really noticed me! My teachers hardly remembered my name; and to be honest, even if I honestly knew that I was at par with the best in the batch, I wasn’t as memorable as them. And simply because… I wasn’t awesome! I didn’t join clubs or became friends with the awesome people. I didn’t like greeting my teachers or spending time with other students in my batch. I didn’t like to get the ball rolling, I watched on the sides, watching the ball roll. Yeah, I was lame. So now you know, don’t be like me - BE AWESOME!

So how exactly does one stand out in the job hunting while hundreds apply for the same job?

Killer Tip: Think out of the Box

While Robin was clearly in deep trouble in job hunting, her friends decided to review her video reel to look for something there that is not making employers hire her. It was a normal reel, started out with her name and a clip from her first reporter job. After they decided it was a bit lame, the ever awesome Barney showed his own video resume:

Of course none of that happened but you get the point: it’s way different and definitely eye-catching than hundreds more video resume put together.

Here’s another video of someone thinking out of the box to get a job in one of the biggest companies in New York:

You can go with the usual stand-out tips like being confident or investing in your soft-skills or a power suit and they’re not at all wrong! I once took a job away because of confidence even though the manager was doubtful of my skills. But thinking out of the box to stand out will definitely get employers to look your way and remember your name.

What is your Think-Out-of-the-Box Plan to Get a Job?

Read More

Plunging into a Job of My Weakness

I was never good in oral communication skills. I palpitated and broke into cold sweat whenever I had to stand for less than 10 second to recite in class. So I didn’t like class recitation and oral exams. I always whispered the answer to my seatmate and he/she got to answer the teacher’s question.

I didn’t like small talk. I didn’t like speaking in front of a crowd. English is my second language and while my school tried to make us practice speaking the language in elementary by establishing English Speaking Zones, I tried my best to avoid them altogether. I didn’t realize that communication skills would be one of the most important skills that I need to learn no matter what career I want to pursue. Even when my career completely changed when I looked liked a complete idiot during that very simple interview to a BS Computer Science course, I denied to myself the fact that I needed to be more aggressive and enhance my oral skills.

I only understood the importance of communications skills when I started looking for a job in senior year. Every one of the job ads required an excellent degree in oral and written communications skills. I realized that I cannot avoid job interviews and I cannot repeat the embarrassing performance I had before college.

I took a job that required a high level of English communication skill.

I took an online teaching job that teaches English to ESL learners. It is a teaching job that requires the teacher to be really fluent and vibrant. It is teaching through phone so facial expressions and hand gestures won’t do well in explaining something without words. Dead air is an absolute no-no so we had to keep talking and asking relevant questions.

I took a job that targeted one of my weakest points. What was I thinking then? I thought to pressure push myself into improving that skill because if I didn’t, I feared that I would not get hired in bigger companies or move up the career ladder. I would always have that big flaw, whispering in my head, “You cannot do it!” and if I went on unarmed, I would be drowned in that fear.

I did improve a lot in my oral communications skills. Since then, I became less and less afraid of going to job interviews. I gained for confidence in talking to other people even though they are my seniors.

Do not go to battle unarmed. If you have a weak point, strengthen it. Improve it. Excel in it. Then there will be one less thing that you are afraid of on your way to pursuing your dreams.

Read More

Staring at my Resume: Lesson #1

RESUME TIPS Your name and contact details must be prominent. Do not include unnecessary personal details. Resume should only be a page. Max of 2 pages. Dated info (i.e educational background) must be written from most recent down to past records. Glam up on achievements!

The first important thing in one’s career that I learned dawned on me when I was staring at my resume template - it gave me a blank stare while I sit in front of my computer monitor. I thought, “I should have seen what a resume looks like when I was 10 years old!”


I was about to graduate at that time and because I wanted to be ahead of the newly-graduates pack, I decided to look for a job early. Looking for work all starts with a piece of paper: THE RESUME and I must tell you, it will force you to travel back in time, asking yourself, “What have I done?”

The first part of resume writing is easy. You have to fill out your personal information. The name and the contact details are the most important. The resume template I copied from also stated height, weight, birthday and religion. I promptly deleted those details now.

Educational background also came as a breeze. Schools, university and date attended. Well I had to count back the years a few times just to be sure.

Then… what next? I had to state achievements. It wasn’t very difficult because while I didn’t gain much academic achievement in highschool, I had some academic awards when I was in the university including a Cum Laude and an opportunity to be an exchange student in another country while I was senior. But are they enough? Are they enough compared to others from my batch who have joined several competitions and won them?

Many will argue that scholastic achievements are not important and that everyone is leveled in the working industry. This could be one of the biggest myths that any student should never listen to. Yes, everyone begins at the bottom in terms of career but achievements boost your image when employers start reading your resume in less than 30 seconds.

If you cannot achieve something when you were studying, what can you achieve from hereon? Where are your proofs that you are hardworking, can be easily trained and has discipline under pressure?

Children, it’s a competitive world out there.

Next post >>> The Next Part of Resume Writing that Had Me Scratching my Head.

Read More