Thanks for sharing @penski516, this balance things out, usually kasi maririnig mo sa mga advice is to simply just send out as much CVs as you can... ika nga, "basta apply lang ng apply"...
Pero kung wala namang preparation, hindi nag-review or refresh ng skillset, baka one is doing more harm than good, pitching to a company then just missing out on the opportunity.
Wala namang masama sa pagbabasakali, kasi meron naman talagang "swerte" na tinatawag. Also, most of us, lakas ng loob lang talaga ang puhunan...
Pero Luck happens talaga when opportunity, meets preparation. π
Goodluck sa aming mga maghahanap pa lang ng trabaho!
<blockquote rel="penski516">hey guys, I have been meaning to share my experience the moment I have something to tell specifically to this thread/question. Ito ang pinakabinabalik-balikan ko kasi specially nung papalapit na ang big move. Like most of you, I have been very weary, anxious, excited and a bit scared of what would be the actual answer to this post as it applies to us, individually. <i>How long does it take to land a job?</i>
To jump right to it, mine took 6 days. I arrived here Jan 15th, I was offered the job yesterday (Jan 21st) and I'm about to start tomorrow, Jan 23rd. Of course, there's more to it than just the actual dates and days but I can tell you that it wasn't easy and it won't ever be possible without the advice from friends, tons of prayers, and the grace of God.
WARNING: Long read... (sorry)
I'm in IT (.Net Web Development) and I think the most crucial step for me is taking the advice of my friend who was already here before I came. That is, to accept the fact that it's really hard to compete in landing a job here, really hard.
I tried to really prepare for the opportunity before it came. Ang nasa isip ko lagi is - if someone called and interviewed me right then, I had to deal with the possibility that this interview could be my last shot for the next weeks or months and I simply had to maximize the chance.
With that in mind, I really took my time to brush up my skills weeks bago ko umalis ng Pinas (pati yung mga stuff na nababasa lang and nalilimutan na natin sa everyday work). Then when I came here, I refurbished my CV over and over until I am thoroughly satisfied. I didn't send out a single CV/cover letter until I was really ready to take interviews.
So when I came here nung 15th, nakapagsend pa lang ako ng Cover letters and CVs nung 18th (dahil sa tagal kong magproof read) sa mga jobs na I think I am a fit sa Seek. I didn't apply to a lot of job posts. I searched,scanned, filtered and applied to 17 jobs that I saw was a really good fit for what I've been doing.
Come the 19th (monday), I got 2 calls from recruiters and 1 call from an hr/resource manager ng company. The same day, I was asked to take 2 technical exams, 1 behavioral exam, which I did at home. I also had a face to face interview with a technical recruiter.
On the 20th (tuesday), I was asked by the hr/resource manager to come into their office for a face to face interview and to sit another exam. Around 30 minutes after I left their office, I was called to come back the next day for another set of panel interviews and again, a (more) technical exam.
Finally on the 21st (wednesday), I met with the manager and a senior guy from the team and had the interview and did another technical exam. Then, around 30 mins after I left their building, the HR manager called me to say I landed the job and I will start on the 23rd. They sent me the offer letter for counter-signing na rin.
I know my story is a bit shorter than some others who shared their tale. What I had going for me was training my mindset to deal with the challenge of job hunting by being prepared even before the interviews came in. This may or may not work for everyone. But at least for me, being confident and at the same ready for the opportunity is a very powerful combo to add to the heaps of prayers.
For whatever it is, don't shy away from making that big leap of faith sa paghahanap dito ng work. I was preparing for the worse, then I was given better than I had honestly expected. I truly believe that God has everything planned and He works through ways we just can't comprehend as long as we give it our honest best.
Goodluck and Godbless everyone!!!
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