When John F Kennedy famously said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” he asked us to shift our thinking in a big way.
Rather than focus on what we “deserve,” he asked us to consider what we can contribute.
Employers don’t hire because you are nice.
Often as job seekers we look for an employer to solve our problems: to provide steady income, benefits, direction, structure, and hopefully even a pension. But no matter how heavy your burden, we all know that employers don’t hire because you need a job or because you are nice.
Employers hire to solve a problem.
As you conduct your job search, demonstrate that you are a problem solver! Show that you bring real skills and understanding of what your target employer needs and, most importantly, that you can meet those needs.
Ask not what your employer can do for you, but what you can do for your employer.
Here’s the Quick Tip!!
Approach your interactions from the perspective of providing solutions. There’s no more convincing method to demonstrate what an effective job candidate you are. Back to Work it Blog homepage.
I would like to thank Brendan Magone who generously volunteered his time and expertise to help me prepare for my first three videos. It turned out that he volunteered much more: on the spur of the moment our crew decided the videos would be even more engaging if I were in conversation. You guessed it, we asked Brendan to jump in. He was a great sport, a true asset, and with no preparation at all he contributed greatly to our creative direction. Brendan has an MFA in Creative Writing and Bachelors of Arts in English and Drama.
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Jennifer Shryock is a resume writer and interview coach with Rainmaker Resumes. Her blog features Missoula job hunting tips, covering everything from the employer perspective to networking ideas to interview-winning resumes to keeping your sense of humor, whether you’re working or working to find work. For answers, send your work related questions to Jennifer@rainmakerresume.com. Make her blog a regular part of your job search.