It is vital to be able to put your best foot forward to get a job and to get ahead at work. Today s workplace has high mobility, with most people having numerous employers and multiple job roles throughout their careers. Entry into the workforce, and numerous career transitions means that we must be continually assessing ourselves and gaining the knowledge, skills, motivations and attitudes to get a job, retain the job, and then to progress if wished. Getting a job or promotion is competitive. Many job opportunities no longer offer the security of permanent full time work as more employers and workers choose consulting, contracting, part-time, temporary and outsourcing services.
Many people do have the appropriate skills and qualifications to do a job.
Employers usually have selection criteria, which apart from seeking appropriate skills, experience and knowledge, frequently specifies the type of person they are looking for, or personal qualities they seek that are relevant to effective job performance. Factors such as leadership, getting on with others, time management, dealing with problems, being innovative, accepting responsibility, being ambitious, being conscientious, and being persuasive for example may be essential requirements for some positions. But not necessarily for all positions, so even though the job duties may be very similar, employers usually make appointments based on personal qualities such as attitudes and motivations as well as experience, qualifications and prior history. Employers try to assess your various attitudes and qualities from your prior history and at interviews, but interviews can be misleading. Often sound candidates do not present as well as they could, whilst sometimes other people hit it off with the interviewers and get the job, despite the fact that they may not have really been the best applicant.