APPLICATION ADVICE
are fresh. Turn off the TV, mobile phone and email to ensure you are not distracted and maximise mental energy for creative thinking and decision making.
Who do you know? Many studies have noted that a large proportion of jobs are found through networking. From a brain point of view this isn’t a surprise: we are more positively disposed to people who are like us and that we know. So use this brain fact. Use Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook to make your approach more personal and to locate people you would enjoy working for at companies that you are excited about. Reach out to friends and family (and their friends and family), talk to them about what you want to do and leverage any relationships they have.
over matter I
Mind
Lindsay Hanson says you can think your way to the top. Here’s how to use your brain in the job-searching process
n recent years, the fi eld of neuroscience has come into its own. Advances in technology have given us greater insight
into the brain’s functions, limitations and capacities. This got me thinking, how can we leverage this fl edgling science in the world of job-hunting?
What ladder do I want to climb? Few graduates know from an early age where their vocation lies, but the vast majority really have no idea what career they want to embark upon. Take some comfort in the fi rst brain fact. Making decisions is an energy intensive activity. Combine this with thinking about something unknown and unfamiliar – and the brain will struggle and try to resist. The answer
10 |
GradJobs.co.uk | Autumn 2011
then is to get more familiar. Talk to parents, friends, go to careers advisors, fairs and get more comfortable with what is on offer.
Writing your CV Not surprisingly, this is critical for your job search. Your CV needs to be concise, accurate, contain all the pertinent information about your education and work history. This requires creative thinking, problem solving and focus – activities that are governed by the prefrontal cortex and require extensive mental energy.
Organise yourself Make sure you undertake tasks that use this part of the brain in the morning when you
Make it a habit Today, getting a job is something that takes time – from thinking about what you want to do, building a CV, building a network, interviewing and landing a job. Build this activity into your daily routine. Make it a habit rather than leaving it to the last minute once you have graduated. Your brain will struggle and it will take huge energy. So break the task down, do something every day and make job hunting a habit. This way you will train your brain to take a small step each day and it will take less energy to land the job of your dreams!
Checklist
• Make job hunting a habit not a one off activity
• Schedule the most attention rich tasks when you have a fresh and alert mind
• Do more distractive tasks like answering emails and spending time on Facebook later in the day
• Schedule blocks of time for different modes of thinking
• Make task lists – rather than holding them in your mind, so you conserve mental energy
• Tap into your network – you are most likely to get a job through someone you know.
About the author Lindsay Hanson is a director of
Capability By Design.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66