This Is How to Get Your Next Job

#1: Don’t Act Clueless and Unprepared

I guarantee you will act clueless, be unprepared, and not be in that “exploring” frame of mind to present yourself in the best possible light if you don’t have some very specific data about three things:

1. The company
2. The job
3. Yourself

Let’s say you’re out and about in the world and you meet an employer who says, “Contact me.” Or you want to initiate contact with someone you’ve never met at a particular company.

If you’re clueless about what the company does, how on earth can you 1) get anyone interested in scheduling that meeting, 2) have an intelligent conversation about the company and how you can contribute, and 3) fit the interviewer’s preconception of whether you can do the job—any job—if you know nothing ...