[Careers Foundations with Pasan Premaratne]

[The Job Search - Deep Dive]

People work for many reasons. There's the obvious reason.

We work to support ourselves financially.

But aside from that, we work to be part of something big.

We work because we're contributing to a cause, fulfilling our passions,

and changing the world in some small way.

Working at a job where you love what you do makes a big difference,

because then you're not working because you have to.

You're working because you want to.

Finding that job is not easy, though.

Nowadays, in a lot of industries, finding any job isn't that easy.

But before we start talking about searching and applying for a job,

I want to spend some time talking about you.

Now I love what I do at Treehouse, and it doesn't feel like a job.

But to find a job like this, I had to figure out what I wanted out of a job.

Lots of people think that things like work-life balance and company culture don't matter.

But you spend the majority of your life working, and you will definitely

enjoy life more if you enjoy your job.

Not every job is a perfect match for you, though.

Before you find one that's a match, you should complete an honest

self-assessment to understand what works best for you.

And this is nothing complicated, but it requires thinking about certain questions

and how they pertain to your situation.

Let's start with what seems like a simple question but is quite a loaded one.

What do you want to do?

Answering this question requires arriving at an intersection

between your skills and your desires.

Now since you're at Treehouse and watching a video about

getting a job, I'm going to assume you have some web design or development skills.

Now you may be able to code, but does that mean you want to code for anyone out there?

Are there certain things you want in life that your job can fulfill?

Suppose you want to change the world in some way.

Maybe working for a charity will fulfill that need.

Maybe you like helping other people start companies.

What about working for business incubators or companies like Kickstarter?

What if you want to have hospitals but aren't a doctor?

Maybe you can design or develop the systems to make hospitals more efficient.

If you watched our Careers in Web Design video,

you might remember that one of our teachers, Nick, got his first job

in a healthcare company doing just that.

He also raises an important point.

You can find plenty of technology jobs outside of the tech industry.

Now think about what you want to do that will give your life meaning.

This will directly help you by narrowing down the list of companies

or industries you want to work in.

What kind of company do you want to work for?

Certain people like to work for large, multinational corporations,

where they're part of a bigger team working towards a common goal.

Others want the feel of a smaller team, where you feel more like family than colleagues.

There are certain advantages and disadvantages to each one.

With a larger corporation, you're with a recognized company.

There's plenty of room to grow and maybe opportunities to travel

and work in a different part of the company in a different country altogether.

In a smaller company, you'll work a lot more closely with your colleagues

and might be expected to wear different hats.

You will definitely learn stuff outside of your job role and can venture into new areas.

What about company culture and attitudes?

Do you want to work at a place that that has a dress code,

or do you want to wear whatever you want?

Now these might seem like trivial considerations,

but in reality they affect our moods, productivity, and energy,

and you'll be happier as a result.

Other things you might want to think about are what kinds

of responsibilities do you want and what kind of projects do you like to work on.

Do you want to manage a team or individuals?

Do you want to manage projects?

Finally, you want to think about numbers.

What kind of salary do you need to live a comfortable life,

and what about benefits?

Does the company offer any perks for work-life balance?

Can you work remotely? This is a big deal nowadays.

For some people, this isn't as important, but if it is for you,

then you need to look for jobs that offer these benefits, rather than

settling for something less and being unhappy for a long time.

Once you have a better idea of the type of company you want to work for,

your job search should get easier.

You can narrow down your list of companies and focus on

sending tailored applications to each.

You will definitely get better results with an approach like this,

instead of mass-applying on job boards like Monster.

Take some time and answer these questions.

And once you're ready, we'll take a deeper look at other aspects of the job search.