I was scanning through my Feed Reader this morning and I found a post that linked to an outside article called 50 Things Every 18-Year-Old Should Know. While I don’t get into political discussions or debates through this site (the link is to a Right Wing News site), the list had some interesting, common-sense advice that can be applied at any age, not just to 18 year olds.

However, after reading all 50 items, one in particular caught my eye as it provides an interesting analogy for job hunting:

You beat 50% of the people by just showing up. You beat another 40% by working hard. The last 10% is a dogfight in the free enterprise system.

After reading it a few times, I started thinking about it like this:

The First 50% – This is the “job hunt” component of the search where you narrowly target positions which are a good fit for your education, experience and skill.

The Next 40% – This is where you take the time to craft a stellar, tailored application package (cover letter and resume) that makes the employer take notice

The Last 10% – This is where you stand out from the crowd with an amazing interview

This just goes to reinforce that successful job applicants are often the ones who are willing to work the hardest.

Thoughts? Comments?

Related posts:

1. Resumes vs Cover Letters
2. How to sabotage your job search
3. Your Job Search Just Got A Little Tougher
4. Ideas to Fast Track Your Job Search
5. Quality vs. Quantity in Job Applications