Five tips for your career development

1. Before you switch, think again

This may sound strange, but is the most essential step. When you join, you bring your “credibility
balance “to zero. “So be clear of your gains in that “dream job” in terms of new learning and growth
potential apart from money if you are spending all your credibility balance, says A Sudhakar, executive
director, HR, Dabur.

2. Spend time on carefully crafting your resume

Resume is more about content and less about style. Someone who reads your resume perhaps also
reads 100 other resumes. Can precisely put down what you bring to the table, such as past results or
other relevant facts, for that “dream job”? Your potential employer is not interested in your assessment
of your potential in your resume. Spend enough time on this step for your own clarity.

3. Arm yourself well for the interview

Prepare the ‘elevator sales pitch’ about yourself. It helps to rehearse that first golden question:”Tell me
about yourself”. This is your opportunity to set the direction of your interview. “Be absolutely clear
about your facts – vague answers on academic results, sales figures, productivity number are a strict no-
no, says Yogesh Patgaonkar, Vice President – group HR, RPG Group.

4. Wear your best self on D – Day

Be yourself –be it in terms of what you choose to wear or even how you answer. If you pretend to fool
someone by being “smart” in an interview, you will not be able to sustain the pretensions when you get
that job. This is the simplest yet most effective method of evaluating the “suitability” of the job for you.

5. Ask questions and do your reference checks

Please clarify genuine doubts rather than trying to ask “intelligent questions” – you will be amazed at
how intelligent you stupid questions turn out to be if they are your genuine queries!

It is important that you get your doubts sorted out – the way your questions are answered will also
indicate how open the environment will be when you join. Also, make sure you run your reference
checks on the job. If you are not comfortable on both these counts, don’t take up the job.