11 New Year Resolutions For Your Job Search

It is time to look forward to 2010. Regardless of 2009 happenings and all its trials and tribulations, 2010 is upon us and now is the time to think about how best to approach the year with regards to your career or job search.

Here are some ideas that you might want to consider:

1. If you are actively searching for a job, make a serious evaluation of your 2009 search. What worked, what didn’t, what successes did you have, what are the strong points to your search and what areas need to be improved in 2010? To help you do this, you can download for free our 8 Point Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will highlight some of these areas.

2. Dust off the old resume and update it. All professionals should maintain an updated resume. Even if you are not searching this is just prudent. It is useful to ensure when you do need one that it is ready, as it reduces the stress of trying to remember what happened in the past, and helps to identify whether or not you are growing or doing the same thing you did last and the year before that.

3. From the resume, step back and take a look at your career and either update or create your career plan. Remember the 6 Ps – Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. This is true in business and in your career. You should be able to answer some basic questions:

A. What are your career goals for 2010? This doesn’t have to be advancement to the next level. It could be what additional experience, training or skills you would need to reach your goal.

B. If advancement is your goal, are you able to get the right experience in your current company? When you write your resume and find you have been doing the same things for the last 2 years you may need to reconsider. Did you add  to your marketability in 2009? This doesn’t mean in terms of dollars. In today’s market, getting a job without going backwards is a good thing. So are you more employable today than a year ago?

C. What experience, skills, or training, does your boss have that will help you be qualified for their position?

4. Write out a job description that meets your goals for 2010. Include the additional experience you need to move your career forward. For example, manage people, participate in system implementation, additional experience in running a trade show, experience in assisting with union negotiations, international sales experience, these are all examples of some experience to include in a job description.

5. Schedule a  1-2-1 with your boss. This should be a separate meeting from your annual review. Make it clear that this meeting is about you and  your career. Sit down and do some career planning with your supervisor. Discuss the issues in #3 above. Is your manager willing to help you get this experience? If so good, if not, then you have a decision to make. It is possible that your manager may be able to provide some additional experience you never thought about obtaining.

6. Identify at least two organizations you will actively participate in. If you already belong to a professional association then become an active member. Active means attending at least 80% of the meetings, serving on a committee, becoming a board member, etc. Do whatever it takes so that people in these groups get to know you and know you well. These associations are prime hunting grounds for recruiters looking for top talent.

7. Consider serving on a nonprofit board. This serves the community, makes you feel good, helps others, and it helps with getting more people to know you and your abilities. Great referral sources.

8. Consider working with a certified career coach. Highly skilled career coaches can really help. They help you clarify the issues above and assist you in making a plan that makes sense to you.

9. If you are in a job search get an accountability partner. We have two articles available to help you identify the characteristics of a good accountability partner and the duties, tasks and responsibilities of a good partner. (See these two articles).

10. Identify the resources you need in 2010 to advance your career. What books, classes, white papers, etc., do you need to make sure you stay on your career path? There are a wealth of resources and tools, many of which are free on the Internet, to help you with your career plan. (This is NOT The Position I Accepted was written specifically for this purpose).

11. Implement. Planning is great, but absolutely worthless without execution. Set up some 30, 60 and 90 day goals. Once they are achieved, then schedule out the next 30, 60 and 90 day goals. Trying to schedule a year out leads to, “I will do that next month as I still have plenty of time.” Before you know it, the year is over. Short term goals are easier to manage and achieve.

2010 is a great year to take control of your job search or career. There are so many resources to help you, that all you need to do is take control and do it.

For some free resources to help you consider:

• Joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. There are numerous discussions and articles to get you started in 2010.
• Download the Skills Assessment in the What’s New section at the bottom of our home page. It starts with identifying your skills and finding out which ones are transferable.
• Download the sample cover letter from the What’s New section at the bottom of our home page. This is a great tool that will align your resume with the company’s needs.

If this has been helpful to you, then please consider helping others by passing it along to them. Consider forwarding the link to your network, tweeting it on Twitter, adding the link to your Facebook, or updating your LinkedIn status. Let’s all try to help others in 2010.

I welcome your thoughts, comments and questions.

Brad Remillard

Job Search Stalled? Do What the Pros Do.

I was reading a golf magazine recently and a particular article caught my attention. It was about what one of the top pros on the PGA tour does when he gets stalled or in a slump. He simply goes back to basics. He goes back to when he first started playing golf to review if one of the 4 basics of golf have changed. He indicated most of the time this fixes the problem.

Your job search may need the exact same thing. If your search is stalled, not attaining the traction you want, or the level of traction you were getting isn’t happening now, going back to the basics may be the ticket.

Like golf, there are basics in a job search that get out of alignment. What once worked, isn’t any longer. We often blame something or someone else. Anyone who plays golf knows this and always blames the equipment for the problem. It is never operator error. If only just getting a new putter or driver would fix the problem. It rarely does, but at least it’s fun to try new equipment.

Rather than blame others it probably makes sense to first look at, “have you changed” or “have you picked up a bad habit along the way without even know it.” Chances are these have a higher probability of being the problem.

So let’s take the search back to basics.

1) Start with you.  After 3 or 4 months in a job search most candidates have gotten so much input and help they no longer know what is right and what is wrong or what they were doing well and what wasn’t working. It all starts to blur together. It may be time to stop getting input from all of these sources.

I recommend limiting your input to a few select people/experts. Preferably to those that have knowledge in the specific area of your search. By now you should have identified the experts you trust, those that have given you honest and often tough advice, those that excel in job search knowledge and/or someone that brings a unique talent to your party. For example, if you need help in selling yourself, find a sales trainer or expert in sales and ask them to help you. Try to develop  a  “Personal Advisory Board.” Some may want to be paid, but most will not.

2) Focus on what isn’t working and what is working. For example, if you are getting interviews but not the offer, chances are your resume and networking is working and your interviewing skills are what needs to be fixed. On the other hand, if you are no longer getting interviews and once were, chances are your marketing plan or networking plan needs to be looked at or redone.

Don’t waste time trying to fix what isn’t broken.

3) Evaluate the fundamentals of your search.

A) Take a look at your preparation. Consider videoing yourself, review what questions to ask in an interview, how do you prepare for an interview, have you identified the right companies and people, are you relying too heavily on the Internet, etc. This list could go on and on.  You need to be objective.

B) Has your resume changed? Has it gone through so many version changes it no longer really reflects your abilities and accomplishments? It could also be the opposite problem, it is too generic and doesn’t really sell you. It is not properly marketing you. Maybe you should talk to a marketing or sales expert for help.

C) Is your marketing and networking plan still effective or has it gotten outdated? Go back and identify more company targets, especially if your geographic requirements have changed. Make a serious evaluation about how you are networking and who you are networking with. Consider some new networking groups to get involved with, reestablish some old connections, and identify new connections that are focused in the area you need.

Stop meeting people for the sake of meeting people and comparing whose business card stack is highest.

D) Conduct and video a mock interview. Take a serious look at yourself on video. How do you come across, what is your body language saying, how do answer the question, do you actually answer the question asked or what you think they asked, do you have eye contact, etc. This can be key to those getting interviews and not offers.

Consider getting back to basics. Take a fresh start on your search to re-energize it.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group. The topics, discussions and articles will be a good place to start. Over 3300 people have joined. It is free and should be a major resource during your search. CLICK HERE to join.

Download our FREE Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard as a place to start. It will help you identify your search strengths and weaknesses. CLICK HERE to download your scorecard.

I welcome your thoughts and encourage your feedback and comments if this was helpful.

Brad Remillard

The Hot Potato Method of Applying to a Job Opening

I touched on this idea the other day in a blog article when I mentioned the idea that you should have a plan for how to attack or blitz a job opening. Let’s explore this idea a little further.

Most candidates treat responding to job advertisements like they are a hot potato – touch and get rid of it. Some of the girls on my HS basketball team play basketball in this same manner. OMG – somebody threw me the ball – I better get rid of it quickly. I’ll treat the basketball like it’s a hot potato.

Why does this happen – even after I suggest ever so politely to the young ladies on my basketball team that we are NOT playing hot potato basketball. It happens due to a lack of knowledge in what to do with the basketball, fear of screwing up, fear of being embarrassed, just plain “freaking-out” over the pressure of having to do something.

Why do so many candidates play hot potato with their responses to job openings? They respond frequently with a standard resume and a standard cover letter and that is the extent of their effort in applying for a job – let’s call this method “Hot Potato Job Responding”. The overall process of responding to a job opening takes perhaps 3 seconds – much like tossing the proverbial hot potato.

You’ll never get a job using the Hot Potato method unless random luck intervenes in the process. It’s passive! You sit by the phone praying it will ring. Your investment of 3 seconds yields nothing!

STOP playing “Hot Potato Job Responding!”

It’s depressing, dysfunctional, and reeks of desperation.

Start creating a campaign around every job response: custom cover letters, custom resumes that address the job requirements, targeting the hiring manager, connecting through social media, beating the bushes in your network for referrals and introductions. Imagine yourself as a linebacker rushing the quarter on a blitz. The same strategy should apply for every job opening.

Don’t be the one who waits helplessly like a victim for the phone to ring. Make the phone ring by shifting your approach to answering ads from “”Hot Potato Job Responding” to the football “blitzing” approach.

Brad and I explore the various methods of responding to ads in our Home Study Job Search Kit. We also have a wealth of FREE Content on our website in the form of templates, audio programs, and examples.

Are you doing everything you can to conduct an effective job search? Have you taken our self-assessment scorecard to determine if you are conducting a job search that will reduce the time in half it takes to find a great opportunity?

Barry Deutsch

Don’t forget to participate in our LinkedIn Job Search Group and join the discussion on how to get a call back for an interview after you respond to a job advertisement.

Are You Responding To Job Descriptions Masquerading as Job Advertisements?

Over 90% of companies post their entire job description or some modified version of it as a job advertisement.

Why?

• Is it because they don’t want to take the time to write a real advertisement?
• Is it because they’re taking the easy way out – posting something that was downloaded off the internet in 1999?
• Is it because they think the job description is the job?

As you probably know, Brad and I teach workshop for Hiring Managers and Executives on improving their hiring effectiveness. Over 35,000 Managers and Executives worldwide have seen this program, titled “You’re NOT the Person I Hired”. One of the key recommendations in this program is STOP posting job descriptions masquerading as job ads.

Job Descriptions DO NOT define the work to be done. Job Descriptions are worthless as a predictive tool to measure or evaluate success. Finally, Job Descriptions focus on the wrong criteria for hiring. Using Job Descriptions both for defining work and advertising for potential employees leads to multiple mistakes and errors we’ve identified in our research of the Top Ten Mistakes in Hiring.

If you’re responding to job descriptions and wondering why you don’t get call backs inviting you to interview – wonder NO MORE!

You’re not getting call backs because you’re not being evaluated on your ability to help the company – instead you’re being evaluated on whether there are words and phrases on your resume allowing a recruiter, human resource admin, or hiring manager to “box-check” whether you should be called.

BREAK this dysfunctional cycle right now and raise the number of invitations you receive to interview for an open position.

Here are some ideas to break this cycle:

1. Find the Hiring Manager on LinkedIn and contact them directly to ask your questions about what someone in this role would need to do to be successful.
2. Offer 4-5 major accomplishments for the functional job in your cover letter – such as finance, marketing, operations, sales. Every job has these 4-5 core elements.
3. Ask questions in your cover letters and correspondence: If you’re applying for a controller role, you might ask “Are you satisfied with the speed, efficiency, and accuracy of your monthly closing process?
4. Publish a blog article on your key accomplishment in the functional area for which you are applying. Send the hiring manager the link to the article.
5. Keep firing off emails seeking additional information. If they haven’t called you yet – do you really care if they think you’re a pest? Worst case is they’ve already decided not to call you and whatever you do will not change their impression. Best case is that one of your letters, emails, LinkedIn notes, or Tweets changes their impression of you.
6. Create a marketing campaign that has a goal to be granted a phone interview. Put on a full court press. What are the top ten things you could be doing to grab the attention of the hiring manager?

STOP being passive in responding to job descriptions masquerading as job advertisements. Break this tribal cycle that has gone on for generation after generation. The vast majority of candidates answer ads and pray the phone will ring. STOP waiting – force the phone to ring through the campaign or blitz attack you put on the hiring manager to convince them to speak with you about the job.

Check out our resources of how to get an interview, including our Resume Kit, our FREE Audio Programs from our Internet Radio Show, and our paradigm-shifting book, This is NOT the Position I Accepted.

Barry Deutsch

Don’t forget to join our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group and join the conversation on how to get an interview, especially when you’ve responded to a job description masquerading as a job advertisement.

I Can Do Your Job Better Than You and I’m Just A Recruiter

It really doesn’t matter if you have 20+ years of experience in your profession, or that it has taken you 20+ years of learning from your mistakes, or that over that 20+ years you have taken on-going educational classes to perfect your talents.

I can still do your job, if not better, at least as well as you do.

For example, maybe you are a:

• VP Manufacturing. I have built and made a lot of things in my life. I’ve assembled many items from toys to bookshelves. I’ve walked through so many manufacturing plants that they all look the same, so I am qualified to be a VP Manufacturing. How tough can this stuff be?
• CFO. For me this is an easy one. I use QuickBooks for my company and even do a home budget, so I know budgeting. Fear not, should you be an international company foreign exchange is my niche. I’ve exchanged currency in many different countries.  How tough can this stuff be?
• VP Operations. This is so vague anyone can do it. Just go to the office, send out a weekly policy and procedure change or update and never be in your office so everyone thinks you are busy. If something goes wrong, send out another policy and procedure update and of course hit the quota of 100 emails a day and copy everyone in the company so you really appear to be important. How tough is this?
• VP Sales. This really doesn’t count because sales really isn’t a profession. It really doesn’t take any special training. Just meet people, know the product, have the gift of gab, and complain. Anybody who has kids is a professional sales person. I bet if you search Amazon for books that teach how to be a professional sales person nothing will come up. It is too simple and doesn’t require training.

Sound ridiculous? I sure hope so.

So then, what makes you think that you are an expert in the job search arena?  Why do you think that because maybe during your career you hired a few people and interviewed a lot of candidates,  you are an expert in this profession?  Sound ridiculous? I sure hope so.

There is a learning curve like any other profession to effectively conducting a job search.  In 30 years as a recruiter, the number of problems, issues, challenges and mistakes one has to endure to become the best are just the same as anyone endures in their chosen career.

This is not about us or recruiters, it is about helping you find a job as quickly as possible.  I have never understood why candidates think they can enter a search and think they know all the ins-and-outs of an effective job search. The fact is, candidates are no more an expert in conducting an effective job search, than recruiters are at doing your job.

If  I have convinced  you of that, then the next step is what to do. As my partner Barry recently wrote in, “What Are You Doing To Sharpen  Your Job Search Saw?” The fact is there is an enormous wealth of information available to candidates, much of which is free. We offer an extraordinary amount of free resources on our Web site. All candidates have to do is reach out and take it. Why so many don’t mind boggles us.

I know you are thinking, “There is too much to choose from. As candidates, we are inundated with stuff. How do we know what is good and what isn’t?” Valid point, but weak at best. It is no different than when you buy a car, choose a doctor, hire a mechanic, or when working, selecting the right software, hiring a consultant, choosing a recruiter to fill an opening, deciding to select a particular vendor and so on. You do your research, look for qualifications, get referrals, ask questions, and look at the person’s or company’s qualifications.

It is called doing your, “DUE DILIGENCE.”

Candidates can do the same thing in a job search. I recommend:

1. Reading blogs and articles. This will  help  you determine credibility.
2. Select three or four experts and follow them diligently, just like you would in business. There may be many consultants that do the exact same work, but once you select the one you like the most you follow them.
3. Review the background of the person or company you decide to follow. Does this background meet the test of time?  Have they been doing what you need, in the area you need, and at the level you need?
4. Once you start following specific experts, don’t be afraid to invest. Often an investment of under $100 can pay back huge dividends. You invest in experts when you are working to improve your performance or your department’s performance.  If investing a little up front gets you working one month sooner what is that ROI? Just like in business it is all about ROI.
5. Identify where you are weak and get help. Some help will be free and some may cost a little (rarely more than $100). Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself. For example, most candidates don’t know how to properly use their voice and body language to communicate effectively. INVEST in yourself and get some professional help. Our Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard will help you identify where you need help. It is FREE. CLICK HERE.

You are not a professional at conducting a job search. Years ago a person said to me,”Amateur golf instructors make amateur golfers.” Well I say to you, “Amateurs at conducting a job search, spend a lot more months looking than necessary.”

Don’t be afraid to reach out and get  help. Do your due diligence so you choose wisely. There is a lot of free information to help you. Don’t be one that ignores it.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group to start. It is free and the articles and discussions are very helpful. CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Check out all of our FREE RESOURCES as a start.

Download from our home page the FREE Sample Cover Letter and Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. Scroll to the bottom in the “What’s New” Section at www.impacthiringsolutions.com

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Brad Remillard

Is Your Job Search Saw Sharp or Dull?

One of my favorite books is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey.

Over the past two decades I have constantly referred to this book for insight and personal growth. Covey describes one of the habits effective people embrace as “Sharpening the Saw’”.

Sharpening the Saw is the process of becoming better, learning more, seeking knowledge to improve what you do. It’s a life-long desire to improve yourself through deep learning, uncovering best practices, learning from others, adapting the techniques and stories you find on blogs, books, workbooks, iTunes, YouTube, and other sources.

Through an informal survey of thousands of executives and managers conducting a job search – less than 10% are investing time to “Sharpen their Job Search Saw”

Why? Does this seem dysfunctional?

It’s NOT brain surgery – there is a wealth of material out there that is both inexpensive and free – why are the vast majority of job seekers NOT taking advantage of it?

Let’s take the content Brad and I publish on Job Search. I’m biased – but I do think we offer some of the very best tools, techniques, methods, and framework for implementing job search best practices. Our ecommerce site offers a wealth of job search materials that are easy to use at a price that is embarrassingly low.

Layered on top of some of our kits, workbooks, audio, and other tools is a vast archive of FREE tips, tools, templates, and audio. Why do most job seekers NOT take advantage of the inexpensive best practice tools to improve their job search. Okay – forget inexpensive tools – let’s just talk about the FREE content Brad and I publish. Wait – Brad and I are not the only job search experts out there writing, recording, and publishing great material on improving your job search.

There are some extraordinary experts on personal branding, resume writing, cover letters, interviewing, and networking. Yet, less than 10% of all job search executive and managerial candidates would be able to identify who are the top three writers/publishers on personal branding for a job search, who are the very best content providers for networking?

If you are in a job search, how could you not know this information – it’s because you are not continuously Sharpening the Job Search Saw.

Let’s agree you will begin to Sharpen the Job Search Saw from this point forward – no more excuses about not having time or resources to improve your job search. Here are 5 immediate things you can do to Sharpen the Job Search Saw:

1. Listen to our FREE Audio Programs on Job Search from our weekly Radio Show
2. Test drive our Job Search Workbook for the cost of shipping
3. Get the Self-Assessment Scorecard on Evaluating Your Job Search
4. Subscribe to this blog to stay up-to-date on all our latest audio releases, new templates, and tips on how to implement the Career Success Methodology in your job search.
5. Try our Home Study Job Search Kit to cut in half the time it takes to complete your job search – if you’re not completely satisfied – return it

Don’t wait another day to start Sharpening Your Job Search Saw!

Barry Deutsch

Resume Do’s and Don’ts – Radio Show

Knowing how your resume is screened will help you understand why you do or don’t hear back from recruiters, HR or hiring managers. These are not the basic do’s and don’ts such as spelling, grammar, or formatting.  You already know those things. We are discussing the practical application of the most common mistakes candidates make that result in their resume getting screened out. Most of these mistakes are so easy to fix, so common sense and so obvious one wouldn’t think it would take a whole show to discuss. We give you insight into what our clients tell us, their actual screening methodology and what you can do to get past the 10 seconds resume screening 90% of the time.

Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group along with 3100 other LinkedIn members. To join CLICK HERE.

You can download for FREE a Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in your job search so you can identify what  you need to tweak. This will help you conduct the most effective job search possible. CLICK HERE to get your free assessment.

To download this and past radio shows in our audio library -  CLICK HERE

STOP Interviewing With Your Eyes Closed

If you’re not asking a version of the question “What are top 3 things I’ve got to do in this position to be successful” in the first 5 minutes of the interview – you might as well shut your eyes and put your hands over your ears – the effect will be virtually the same.

Without a specific list of what defines success, you’re “flying blind” as the metaphor goes for pilots.

How do you know what to talk about?

What points will the hiring manager be most interested in?

Not understanding quickly what defines success allows the hiring manager to trap you into a box-checking discussion of the job description. Very few candidates can survive box-checking (more about the syndrome of box-checking against the job description in the next post).

Without extracting the performance criteria for the job from the hiring manager, the interview is a worthless exercise in futility. Giving examples, sharing skills, articulating your knowledge on box-checking job description criteria posed by the hiring manager (which is the tribal methodology of most hiring practices) leads to interview failure over 95% of the time.

You cannot possibility meet this unattainable list of silly, inane, inconsequential, and irrelevant criteria for the job. It’s almost like failing to interview before the interview really starts.

Once you know what the “REAL” criteria for success in the job is – then you can tailor your answers around that criteria.

Let’s take a real example (names have been changed to protect the innocent):

Bob is being interviewed by Mark for a position as Chief Financial Officer. In summary form the job description is:

12-15 years of experience in a technology-oriented business

CPA and a BS in accounting or Finance – MBA preferred

Good understanding of international accounting, GAAP, Tax Planning, Banking Relationships

Ability to supervise and develop the staff in accounting/finance

Put budgets, forecasts and special analysis together as required

Candidate should be self-motivated, multi-tasker, high initiative and a strong team player

Good systems skills are important

You get the idea – it’s a laundry list of experiences, skills, attributes, and activities. However – it’s NOT the job – in fact, it has NOTHING to do with the job.

In this form of the tribal interview, the questions go like this:

Do you have a CPA?

Have you had experience with international accounting?

How strong are your systems skills?

And so on until you fall asleep!

Let’s take our imaginary candidate Bob and have him pose the “What are the top 3 things I’ve got to do to be successful in this job over the next year” question.

The CEO thinks for a few minutes, remarks that no one in the interview process has yet asked that question and proceeds to describe the following three objectives:

1. You need to identify specific strategies in the next 60-90 days to lower our costs by 10% over the next 12-18 months.

2. Our budgeting/forecasting/analytical systems and processes are out-dated and need to be revamped over the next 6 months.

3. We need to convert our existing old disjointed, hodge-podge, home-grown systems to a new ERP comprehensive system within the next 9 months.

Based on knowing this information, would the interview be different? Would Bob structure his responses differently given what he now knows is important to the CEO?

Are you praying that the traditional shotgun approach to interviewing by spraying the hiring manager with as much information as possible will work – or would a more laser-focused approach be better?

Have you had an opportunity to download the FREE Chapter from our Job Search Workbook on Phone Interviewing?

Have you read the Chapter in the workbook on preparing for an Interview?

Have you gone through the exercises in our Job Search Home Study Course on Interviewing Techniques?

Finally, have you downloaded the FREE Audio Programs Brad and I have posted on our website from our weekly Internet Radio Talk Show regarding interviewing?

Have you signed up for our webinar on effective phone interviewing?

How can you get better at interviewing if you’re not taking advantage of best practice information on how to interview effectively?

Barry

PS – Jump into our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group to pose your questions about interviewing.

Hope and Luck are NOT Job Search Strategies

Why do so many candidates rely passively on hope and luck to end their job search?

This is not like spinning the roulette wheel in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Our life is passively dictated by what number comes up.

You cannot afford to be passive in your job search. The risk of being passive is a job search that takes 2X-3X longer to complete. We’ve documented in a previous blog article the painful cost of an extended job search.

You don’t want to see your savings account evaporate, you don’t want to wonder how you’re going to make the mortgage payment next month, and you don’t want to network since talking with people who ask “How’s it going” trigger a set of painful emotions you’d rather not face right now.

So, instead of playing the victim from a reactive angle – how about starting to play the proactive angle. STOP waiting for the phone to ring and start doing the best practices in your job search that makes the phone ring off the hook with job leads, referrals, and interview requests.

Where to start you might ask?

The place to start is with a frank appraisal of your job search. What are doing wrong, what’s working, what can you improve?

We’ve developed a widely popular tool called the Job Search Plan Self-Assessment. Thousands of candidates have completed this self-assessment and shared the results with us. The stats are both depressing and insightful about how most candidates conduct a job search. As the title of this blog posting suggests, most job search strategies are based upon hope and luck.

Our self-assessment tool is a one page scorecard that zeros right in on whether your job search is effective. Overcoming many of the classic job search mistakes and errors is the only way you’ll ever reduce the time it takes to find a great opportunity.

Do you know what the Top Ten Job Search Mistakes and Errors are that limit job search effectiveness? Brad and I did a radio show on this subject. You can download it from our FREE Radio Show Library. Have you assessed the effectiveness of your Job Search Plan. We did another radio show on this topic built around our FREE Job Search Plan Scorecard.

Barry

P.S.: Don’t forget to join our Job Search Discussion Group on LinkedIn where we facilitate a wide variety of Job Search Discussions, ranging from overcoming job search mistakes to winning the phone interview.

How To Shoot Yourself In The Foot While Conducting A Job Search

I think the best way to shoot yourself in the foot while in a job search is not having a structured, formal, repeatable job search methodology or process. In the case of a job search HOPE and LUCK are not a process.

A methodology has a series of steps, that when followed, increase the probability of a desired outcome. This also implies that when a step is skipped the probability of the desired outcome is less. There is only one thing worse than skipping a step in a methodology, and that is not having one at all. Unfortunately, we find that most candidates don’t have a real methodology. Most tend to have a little of this and a little of that and candidates are easily distracted. The results tend to be no methodology.

Our job search workbook, “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” is a 5 step process for making you a sales person during your job search. After all, when you are in a job search you are in sales. There are 5 basic steps in the sales process that are a good outline for a job search.

1. What is the product or service? Before a sales person can sell a product they must know all about the product. This not only includes the facts about the product, but what makes this product better than the competition, what makes this product unique, how the buyer will benefit from the product, and often a SWOT analysis is performed. Since you are the product in a job search have you addressed all of these issues?
2. Once step one is completed it is time to identify the customers and put together a marketing plan. Not everyone may need or want your product. In fact, your product probably is not right for everyone. So you must identify the high potential customers. Those that have a high probability of not only buying your product, but also can afford your product. Why waste time meeting customers if they don’t fall into one of these categories? In a job search we call this, “networking with a purpose.”
3. Now that high potential customers have been defined and identified, every sales person needs marketing materials. Marketing documents, regardless of the form, strive to get to the customer’s underlying motivation. Often this requires multiple marketing materials and multiple formats. Regardless of formats, most marketing documents are about the customer, not the seller. Is your resume a marketing document? Is it about the buyer or all about you?
4. Sooner or later every sales person has to make a sales presentation to get the sale. Top salespeople have this down pat. They rehearse, they anticipate questions and practice the answers, they know what the buyer’s objections to the product are, and have thought through how to overcome them. Finally they have studied the competition and know exactly why their product will better meet the customer’s needs. Obviously, this is the interview for those in a job search. Would you be considered a top sales person?
5. Finally top salespeople know how to follow-up and close the sale. This is the most difficult part of any sale. It must be done tactfully, in a manner that engages the customer without bugging them and continues to overcome issues as the process continues. For candidates, this is all of the additional interviews that take place as you move through the hiring process.

These five steps are the basic steps in an search process. Just like the sales process, there is a lot more that goes into each step. Top salespeople spend an enormous time training, preparing and practicing each step. Top candidates do the same.

Join our Linkedin Job Search Networking Group for a lot more help with developing and enhancing your job search methodology. CLICK HERE to join the group.

Our job search workbook, “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” is based on the five steps outlined above and goes into great detail on each step. We will send you the book to review for just the cost of shipping $5. CLICK HERE to read more. Readers have rated this workbook 4.5 stars out of 5.

I encourage your comments and feedback.

Brad Remillard