Career Choice Guide: 6 Tips for Finding the Ideal Workplace

To ensure that your workdays are balanced and not spent counting down the hours, it matters where you work. While individual preferences vary, we aim to provide some general guidance on finding the ideal job below.

Decide What You Want How can you start looking for a job if you don't even know what your expectations are? First, make a list of what you want in a workplace. Include all possible factors: the job role, tasks, distance from home, office requirements, potential for home office, ideal boss and colleagues, work schedule, shifts, salary, and anything else that comes to mind.

Of course, be realistic, and don't forget that the chances of finding a job that meets every single requirement 100% are slim. However, once you have a starting point, it will be easier to decide where you're willing to compromise. This list will be particularly useful if you have multiple job opportunities to choose from, as you can easily categorize the jobs and see which one is truly right for you.

Create the Perfect Resume Creating a good CV can require significant effort, but it pays off in the long run, as you can reuse the same resume with minor modifications later.

The resume should be clear, well-formatted, and to the point. The most important content elements include personal information, such as your name, address, and contact details, but the focus should be on listing your education, achievements, and work experience. Be sure to highlight information relevant to the specific job. If you're applying for a student job, you can elaborate more on school-related information, including even primary school achievements.

Start Searching Once you know what you want and your resume is ready, you can start the actual job search. The platforms you use depend on personal preferences: you can look at specialized websites or even social media platforms. Friends and acquaintances can also be a great help, and if you know which companies you'd like to work for, you can visit their websites directly, as job opportunities are often posted on their career pages.

If you focus exclusively on one company, you can also send your resume and cover letter directly to them. This way, if a suitable position opens up in the future, they may reach out to you.

However, the most common scenario is browsing through available offers online. Once you've selected a few appealing ads, you can start sending out applications.

Apply for Multiple Jobs Although many job offers are available, don't forget that the competition among potential employees is fierce: a single attractive job can have hundreds of applicants, so it's not worth focusing on just one opportunity. Be prepared for the possibility of not receiving any feedback from some workplaces and even facing some rejections, as you might be filtered out based on your resume alone.

Prepare for the Interview If you receive the long-awaited phone call and are invited for an interview at one of the workplaces, you've already taken a big step toward your goal. Now, much depends on you—your personality and preparation—since they already know from your resume that you meet the requirements on paper.

At the interview, don't play a role; be yourself, but do it professionally: be clean, well-groomed, and neat, arrive on time, and be polite during the conversation. Prepare by researching the company's operations, as this will impress the interviewers. Think in advance about the questions you might be asked—you can even watch some YouTube videos on the topic—but don't memorize the answers, as they'll be interested in your own opinions and thoughts.

If you have questions about the job, feel free to ask them. This is a good time to refer back to your previously made list and address the points that are crucial for you, such as working hours, travel reimbursement, home office possibilities, or anything else where you're unwilling to compromise.

If they find you likable, one of the critical parts of the interview will follow: salary negotiation. If the salary is set by law, research it and state your expectations within those limits. In other cases, you need to think it through carefully: look into the typical salaries in that sector, and based on your actual experience, determine your worth.

Stay Optimistic Job searching is not an easy process, and there’s a good chance you’ll face several disappointments. It’s crucial to believe that the problem isn’t with you: the competition is just incredibly tough, and you can't always come out on top. Try to view the situation as though the job you didn’t get wasn’t meant for you, but sooner or later, your time will come, and if you stay persistent, you will find the ideal workplace for you.