When it comes to finding a job, you will hear people talk about the value of a great resume, a strong cover letter, fluent communication, your body language, but no one talks about clarity of thought.
Let's take Chintu's case - Chintu is a sales professional looking for a sales job in Canada. He goes to an interview and the interviewer asks him - "what's your biggest strength?" - and Chintu answers "I am really good at selling anything to anyone". While that's a good answer, it's not enough. Because no sales professional applying for a sales job will ever say that they suck at selling stuff!
The problem is that Chintu has been so consumed with applying for every Sales job there is on the internet, without first understanding his biggest strength that makes him a good sales guy. It's important to understand the WHY.
Why should you be hired?
Why are you applying for the job?
Why are you the best candidate for the role?
Why Why Why!
And that's where F.I.G.J.A.M. comes into play. It stands for F*ck I am good, just ask me.
FIGJAM is Chintu's unfair advantage that differentiates him from 100 other people who applied for the same sales job. Hearing this, Chintu had his light bulb moment (and also understood why he didn't get the last job) - he went back to the drawing board and this time, he asked the right question - "what makes him a good sales guy?". He wrote down all his strengths on the board and realized that it's his ability to understand consumer's emotional need that makes him a really great sales guy! EMPATHY..
That was it! Chintu goes to another interview, but this time, he had a stellar answer for the simple (and the same ghisa pitta) question - "What's your biggest strength", "Why should we hire you?". He now talks about how he is extremely good at understanding the consumer's need, empathising with their situation, judging their emotional reactions and providing them with a fitting solution is what make him a great sales guy!
Do you think Chintu got the job? Hell ya... ;)
The next time you need a job, first think about your WHY.. your FIGJAM, because that will give you invaluable clarity about your strenghts, your abilities and your unfair advantage that makes you stand out from the rest!
Want to learn more, download our free ebook on finding your first job in Canada or better yet, be part of our 2 day First Job accelerator program. In these 2 days, we talk about how to know your worth (FIGJAM), build a stellar profile (and it's not just your resume), how to network with strangers on Linkedin and how to nail an interview. I can't promise you a job after this workshop, however I do promise you one thing - you will have the formula to be in the top 2% job seekers in Canada - and that's all you need to get your FIRST JOB :)
And by the way, if after the workshop, you feel that the program is full of shit - I will give you your money back - no questions asked. That's how much I believe in this workshop.