Questions to Ask if You Are Looking for A Better Job

Often I am asked by my students as they are approaching graduation, “where should I begin looking for a job?” My response tends to be, “what would be your ideal job?”

Since marketing and sales - the program I teach in at DCTC - tends to offer a wide variety of positions to business professionals, it is the better question to ask.

To help soon-to-be grads think about their ideal jobs, I give them the following questions to help prepare for the job search:

My Ideal Job Includes Worksheet 

Instructions:  This worksheet will not tell you where to find your ideal job, but it will help you define points to keep in mind during your job search.  When making entries, include information that supports the jobs you are most likely to seek within your major area of study.

Occupation-Specific Information

Major area of study:

• Special experience or training that related to or supports my major:
• Job titles related to this major that interest me or are likely objectives:

Skills:

• My top three adaptive skills that support the jobs in my major area of study:
• My top three transferable skills that support the jobs in my major area of study:
• My top five job-related skills that I particularly enjoy using or am particularly good at:

Personal Values:

• What values do you want to incorporate into your work?

Earnings:

• What is the minimum salary you would accept?
• What is a reasonable salary range to expect for the types of jobs for which you are qualified?
• From $____________________(low) to $_____________________(high).

Level of Responsibility:

• The higher you go in an organization, the more responsibility you have.  Do you want to supervise others?  Can you manage a department?  More?
• What level of responsibility do you plan to seek?
• What level of responsibility are you willing to accept or begin with?

Geographic Location:

• Are you willing to relocate? (Yes or No) ________If so, what specific regions of the country  (or cities) have you targeted?
• If you are not willing to relocate, are you willing to accept the limitations this may have on finding your  job? (Yes or No) ______What limitations do you expect as a result?

Special Knowledge and Interests:

• What special knowledge or skills have you gained from previous training, education, jobs, hobbies, or other life experiences?  (Include only those skills that are particularly well developed).
• What are your special interests?  (Include only interests that are particularly important to you).

Work Environment/Organization Size and Type:

• What type of work environment would you prefer?  (Include criteria that are particularly important to you).
• In what size organization do you prefer to work?
• Do you prefer to work for the government, a not-for-profit or similar type of organization, or a business?  Would you rather be self-employed?

Types of People:

• What types of people would you prefer to work with?
• What type of person would you like your boss to be?