It’s All About Fit
Note from the editor: Even though Erin is jet-setting to Australia, she left a few tidbits of knowledge for me to share as posts.
- Ashley Imsand, assistant editor
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The talk we’ve had here over the past few months about resumes and cover letters and job hunting and so on has led me to write a piece pointing out a somewhat different angle. At Forward, we will talk a lot about dos and don’ts for the different elements of a job search — some contributed by our own HR gal, Michael, and some by professionals and others based on their own experiences. But keep in mind that hardly anything that’s said - here or anywhere - is set in stone. There are the basic rules you need to know about all this, the things that keep recurring and your common sense tells you are true, but really … don’t sweat all the little discrepancies.
That is not the same as “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Do. You DO need to worry about your spelling and grammar and all the little details that go into your resume, cover letter, etc. A pretty consistent view coming from employers is, “If this person did (or didn’t) put time into his/her resume, I can expect the same from him/her professionally.” So do put time into it. Get it right. Research a company before sending something to them. Research them even more before meeting with them. Know what you’re getting into. And this leads me to my main point …
It’s all about fit. In the job hunt, it’s about finding a company that you click with. They’re not only interviewing you, you’re interviewing them. The attraction needs to be mutual! Because if you end up working for a company that LOVES you, but you just don’t feel like you fit there … well. You won’t be happy. And you won’t be as productive. The company doesn’t want that. No one wins. So take the time to focus more on the big picture of “Is this a good fit for me, my professional interests and my strongest skill set?”
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - John Eldridge