How Employable Are You?

If you were an employer, would you hire yourself? In other words, if you were an employer and a person exactly like you in every detail and respect applied for a position, would you hire that person?

For example, let's say he or she knew everything about you that you know about yourself: how you do your work when now one is around; the attitude you take toward your work; the way you regard the company's customers; the way you habitually get along with those people you come into contact with on a daily basis.

Here are some other questions you would want to ask:

How long were your with your former employers? This gives a glimpse into your stability. Employers try to avoid hiring people who have stayed for short periods with many previous employers. The odds are good you'll repeat the same thing.

Is your history with one type of work, or are you a jack-of-all trades? Employers like those people best who have found a preference for and have developed skills in one type of work. Believe it or not, the jack-of-all trades person, the person who has skipped from one type of work to another, has the most difficult time finding employment.

Have your earnings been steady, with a gradual upward climb? Here again, satisfactory work and stability are indicated. A person whose earnings have gone up and down is regarded, justifiably, with some suspicion.

Would you feel comfortable and conscience-free to give facts regarding your financial affairs, life insurance and established credit? Here again, the employer gets a pretty good picture of the sort of person you are. If you have excellent credit, it tells the employer more in one minute than you could tell him or her all afternoon as far as your reliability an sense of responsibility are concerned.

Do you have a "Life is what you make it" attitude, or are you an "I never got the breaks" type of person? If you're the latter, you may find it difficult to obtain a good job.

Do you have sense of humor? Or do you ten to take yourself too seriously?

Finally, what sort of letters will your former employers write about you? Were you outstanding, very good, fair, average, or poor? Unless it's one of the first two, outstanding or very good, you might find yourself turning yourself down.

These are some of the important qualities an employer must check, or at least should check before they invest their money in someone, and entrust the reputation of their company and quality of their product or service with that person.

So pretend you're an employer, and you're applying for a job. How do you measure up?
It's an excellent idea to stand back once in a while and look at yourself objectively, to try to see yourself as you would look at a stranger if you were applying for a job.