8 Science-Backed Ways To Boss Your New Year Resolutions
3. Get A New Job By Acknowledging Your Weaknesses
Your version of "new year, new you" may well involve your career, but getting a new job can seem like more of a dark art than an exact science, so let's break it down a bit. We'll start with the thing that gets your proverbial foot in the door: The CV. Or, just as importantly, the covering letter. According to research, up to 50% of recruiters regard the covering letter to be as important as the CV, so don't skimp on it. Right, due to your mad letter-writing skills, you've landed yourself an interview. This is basically a game of getting someone to like you and, whilst much of this is common sense, there are some little tricks you can employ to tip the balance in your favour. First things first, timing is key. According to various boffins, the optimal time for a job interview is 10:30am on a Tuesday. This dull-as-dishwater, middle-of-the-road time serves as a blank canvas on which you can make the best impression. Your interviewer is least likely to be distracted by their commute/dinner plans/raging hangover at this time and will be able to devote their full attention to you. Once you've got their attention, you need to figure out your plan of attack and one of the best ways to do this is figure out how old they are, as different generations apparently respond to different things. Gen-Y (20-30 years) tend to respond to visual stimuli and favour flexibility and creativity, Gen-X (30-50) favour your ability to juggle a work-life balance, and Baby Boomers (50-70) value hard work and respect. And finally, how to answer that dreaded interview question: "What's your greatest weakness?" This is probably not the best time to bring up your crippling gambling addiction, and under no circumstances are you to answer it with "I'm just such a workaholic" as this could cause your interviewer to (rightly) poke you in the eye, so what do you say? As it turns out, honesty is the best policy here. The likelihood is that you are being asked this question so that you don't end up in a job you're going to struggle with, which is no good for anyone. If you struggle with time managment, tell them, but also tell them how you'd overcome it.
