Check Out The Organization From The Look Of The Website

When you are out of job, or caught in one that makes your life miserable, you would love to accept anything that jumps first unto your path. However, that is definitely not the solution to your woes. Doing so would only land you from frying pan into the fire.

If you are unemployed and land the wrong job you would be trapped in an unpleasant situation (read career choice) where you would not be able to perform and which would definitely end in either a termination or a rapid change of job ? both the cases being bad for your career graph.

If you are employed and choose the wrong job, you would again find yourself in troubled waters which would prompt you to again look for employment and in the process gather the label of a rolling stone. Hence, job search should be taken very seriously and an application should be made only when you are sure the organization you are applying to is what you are looking for both in terms of job-satisfaction, culture and remuneration.

The Website As A Priceless Clue

A website for an organization is more or less like a visiting card of an individual. It gives information about what the organization is doing, its products/ services, and the most important to you ? about the careers, it offers. In fact, the way the job listing are made/ displayed can tell you a lot about the type of organization.

1. You find the employment page right away ? the careers/ job/ employment is immediately visible and easily accessible. You open the page and there you have the existing vacancies in a very clear and organized manner. You will also observe a little pep talk about how careers at so-and-so organization are rewarding, lucrative and promising.

What is your verdict? Great website, great organization. Well, yes this would be so. It also shows that they are happy to invite as many as possible people into their midst ? the reason could be either that they are expanding rapidly or that there is a very high turn over. Find the exact reason by browsing over their website ? and if need be contacting the reception or even the HR Department. If you find that the reason is fast expansion ? then apply. You are likely to enter a growing organization which is a good thing.

However, if it is because it has a very high turnover, find out first why this is happening. What makes people leave the organization? Apply only when you are satisfied that the answer is not applicable to you (reason for leaving the organization).

2. The employment page is there but outdated ? and so is most of the information given on the website. This is definitely not a good sign ? there are again two main reasons (I am sure there are many more ? but these are the most critical) ? (i) the organization is on the downslide and hence no one bothers about the website any longer, and (ii) the company is not Internet friendly.

Check out and see which one of the reasons is applicable. If it is the first, it is better to avoid applying as being part of such as organization (if they employ any longer) is not going to help you professionally or your career graph.

In case it is the second ? this is one sin which you can forgive the organization. Ensure, though that they are indeed better in all other fields ? and maybe take over the website maintenance as well along with your other tasks in the organization. The best way to find this out is through newspapers and direct interaction with the people working in that organization.

3. The employment page is very attractive ? as the other pages as well. This can mean good news. When a company takes trouble to promote itself well with it clients and prospective workers, it means that the company means business ? which is great. It could also mean it is a scam ? so check it out thoroughly before applying. Of course, this does not apply to the already established giant corporates, which have highly impressive websites. You can find out whether it is a scam or not by simply running a search on the Internet with their name+scam. If there is anything at all, the Internet will pick it up. If not, by all means apply for it.
4. Other pages of the website are informative ? go through the website even after you found the employment/ careers page. Check out what they say about themselves, their products, their staff, etc. The more you learn about the organization, the better it is for you since this would help you match your skills to their requirements best and in the discussion during the interview. If the website is too brief/ abrupt ? take time to check out the organization personally and/or over phone before applying.
5. Employment page has scope for cold calls ? there are many organizations which like to build their applications database and refer to it when vacancies come up. These type organizations would announce on their employment page that you could apply by filling in their electronic job search pro-forma and when a job pertaining to your skills and educational qualification comes up, they will get in touch with you.

This is okay, and true in many cases. Hence, after checking all the points mentioned above and finding the results suitable, you may apply. However, you still need to follow up from time to time to check out whether and when any vacancy is announced.

Another very important thing is to mention clearly what job exactly you prefer. Leaving the designation open might create some uncomfortable moments if they make you a below-your-expectations offer. The same would stand true if the offer is for jobs that you would be qualified but do not care too much about. Hence, the best bet is that you clearly mention (if there is no special field for it, in the objective field of your CV) what job(s) you are available for.