Lesson Number 1: “Screw the odds, screw the science, just live” ~Grey’s Anatomy.

If you are not a physician or nurse or belong to any other shortage occupation, then your odds of securing a job with cap-exempt employer are meager. But, ALWAYS remember – “screw the odds”

Lesson Number 2: No stone unturned

Truth about job-hunt is that you never know which part of your professional profile will a certain HR professional start at, which parts they weigh more against others (is reference check more important than resume?) or which part will be analyzed thoroughly versus glanced at. Thus, it is in your best interest to leave NO STONE UNTURNED. As an aggressive job-seeker you must ensure that when a HR professional looks at your application for a job, she/he has a full understanding of your candidacy – education background, experience (from my resume), what makes you a good fit for the job (from the cover-letter), that you are an industry-aware person (from blogs or participation in online conversations), that you are good at networking (from LinkedIn). After a certain point in time, it shouldn’t matter which angle an HR professional was looking from – cover-letter, resume or just googled you! He/she will only find perfection!

Lesson 3: Job-Search Tactics

Keeping up with the job-market trends is very important. Social media and the digital world cannot be separated from the real world. If I had to go through this ordeal again, I would build a strong online profile first. In hindsight, a blog to add my subject knowledge about the healthcare industry in U.S.A. was crucial. Although a time-consuming exercise, it has been fruitful. Not to ‘impress’ any recruiter but to actually formulate your thoughts about current affairs is a powerfully gratifying exercise. The ability to formulate coherent written material after a bout of convoluted thinking is admirable all over. To highlight this ‘skill’ in my job application I added a URL to my blog in my resume. Also, it sparks interesting conversations with the interviewer!

Once a strong online profile was built, I added a URL to my email signature, my resume and other social-media sites. It is important not only to be an exceptional candidate but also ‘lay it out’ explicitly that you are exceptional. I had positioned myself for good opportunities.

Lesson 4: Accepting rejections graciously

You must have heard of job-acceptance letters. But, I crafted rejection-acceptance letter. It was a simple emailing thanking the HR for spending time and effort evaluating my application. In some cases, I also thanked people who referred me for job positions. Sometimes I would reiterate that I considered rejections a part of business. It is intended to put it out explicitly that I know how to get past rejection and that I am not a ‘sore player’. Truthfully, I did it just to put some ‘closure’ on a job opportunity and mentally move on to the next one. To my surprise, it was well-received by recruiters. One, in fact, referred me to another HR professional saying that she might have some opportunities matching my profile. In hindsight, I should have send rejection-acceptance letter every single time I was rejected. Who knows!

I really hope this series of articles was helpful for readers!