Many of our participants are often in doubt when the time comes to apply for a job that they find interesting. There are often not sure if they have the right skills.
How do we evaluate our strengths and potential when many of the offers, written by employers, ask for an ideal candidate, which may not be realistic. They sometimes compile a long list of many qualities and skills that one person simply cannot fulfill.
Maybe you have done something similar when thinking of what you want in a perfect partner. We are all aware that not very many people will meet the criteria 100%. Our team here, at Cible Retour à l’Emploi, suggest that you try the following exercice to determine if the job is a good fit.
The Rainbow Activity involves breaking down the text within the job offer with different colours. For example, you could use yellow to highlight the skills you definitely have; green for what you have the potential but need to improve; orange for what you don’t have but can improve; and lastly, red for those competencies you don’t have and cannot improve.
With this activity, the job seeker will rapidly see if there is a lot of red, they should probably look for other offers. On the other hand, if there is a lot of yellow, green or even orange they should take a chance to apply. During the interview, it will be possible to know your weaknesses in advance and talk about how you improve them.
We suggest that the next time you want to apply for an offer, take the time to do this short exercise.
If you need help you can reach us at Cible Retour à l’Emploi or call us: 514-362-7340
—An extra piece of advice is to always make sure that the company exists. You can visit: http://www.registreentreprises.gouv.qc.ca/fr/default.aspx
by Marie-Claire Poulin, Employment Counsellor