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Fresh Start: How to Ace the Interview and Onboarding
The path to stability often means looking for a new job during challenging circumstances. Whether you’re coming back from a long period of unemployment or you’ve unexpectedly found yourself without work, there are steps that you can take to ensure a smooth transition into your new job.
This guide is going to cover seven of the most important points for landing your interview and onboarding to your new position.
1. Assess Your Skills
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One of the first things that you should do is assess your skill set.
This is especially important if you’re coming back from a long period of unemployment. The skills that you possess are going to help you pick the right jobs to apply for.
There are some important things to consider when you’re looking for a new job. Your current skill set doesn’t have to define the jobs that you look for, but it does give you a starting point to identify skill gaps that you need to overcome to look for new work.
Using one of these smarter ways to find a new job, you can quickly match your skills to employers who are looking to fill vacant positions.
2. Land the Interview
You’ve assessed your skills and started your job search. Now that you’ve landed your first interview, how do you make sure that you leave a lasting impression?
Making sure that you landed the interview starts before you even walk into the hiring manager’s office.
One of the first things you can do is to prepare for common interview questions in your industry. These questions will be specific to the type of job you’re applying for, but there tend to be standard questions that most candidates could ask.
You should also follow up on your interview. Thanking the hiring manager for their time and reaching out again a few days later is a great way to stay fresh in their mind.
3. Get Your Documents Ready
Whether you’re heading off to your interview or your first stage new job, you’ll want to make sure that you have your paperwork in order.
This will include common documents that most jobs require like a blank check to set up direct deposit. However, you might also need to bring in copies of certification or degrees if your industry has more requirements.
Getting all of these documents in order ahead of time is going to help streamline your onboarding process. It’s also going to leave a better impression with the hiring manager as well as your co-workers who are going to help you get started at the new job.
4. Network and Stay Active
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This tip applies at every stage of your search for new work. You want to start networking and stay active.
This will help you land your first job after long-term unemployment, but it can also help you land a better position down the road.
You can network on common sites like Instagram, at industry specific conventions, or in person.
Remember, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Staying connected with a variety of people in your industry is going to help you improve your career perspectives over the long run.
5. Understand the Culture
What’s the culture going to be like at your new job? Are you walking into a laid back office setting that just needs jeans and a t-shirt or are you entering into a specialty field that’s going to require dedicated equipment?
These are just a few of the questions that you need to ask yourself about your new job. You’ll be able to get some of this information by asking the hiring manager, but you should also consider reaching out to future co-workers online.
6. Onboarding at your New Job
Your onboarding process is going to be one of the biggest challenges when coming back from unemployment.
You’re going to have a short amount of time to learn a lot of information about your new role, how you interact with your coworkers, and what’s expected of you on a day-to-day basis.
One of the things you need to consider is that many jobs still require a drug test. Even in states that have legal cannabis, companies are still using different types of drug tests to detect this legal substance.
You should be aware of whether or not your company plans on asking for a drug test before you start your position.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions early on in the process. it’s better to make mistakes when you’re still new then a few months down the road when you’re expected to be functioning at 100%.
You should always ask the hiring manager what the onboarding window is for your new position. They should have a certain amount of weeks, or months, of planned training before you fly on your own.
7. Maintaining Stability and Moving Up
After you’ve landed your position, it’s time to put your best foot forward to maintain your newfound stability.
This includes the basics like showing up on time, but it also involves setting yourself up for success in the future.
You should always keep an eye out for opportunities for advancement whether you’re moving up in your current company or you’re looking to make a horizontal transfer into a new role or career in a different institution.
You’ve now got seven important skills that will help you land your next job interview and ease your way into a new onboarding process.
Remember, every company is different and their values and expectations are going to change based on the industry that you’re in and the position that you hold.
Even if you’re coming back from a long period of unemployment, you still have relevant skills and a lot to add to the workforce.
