Today as the competition is fierce and only getting fiercer with a tight job market, I have an illustration for you to consider.
Imagine you are driving in the car and listening to your favorite radio station. It plays the music genre you prefer and it is the only station you listen to on a drive. But, is it the only station out there?
People treat seeking employment the same way. They tune in to their most preferred genre of finding and applying for jobs in one of the following ways:
Job boards
Newpaper ads
Trade journal openings
Online web crawlers like Indeed or Simply Hired.
The stark reality is that employers have veered away from most (but not all) of the above and are on another frequency. You can tell this by job seeker frustration:
"I've applied online to 99 jobs this week alone and haven't heard back from one."
"I keep seeing the same job posted every week in a recycled fashion. Why are they not interviewing me?"
As a jobseeker, you have to crank it up a notch and migrate to the station where employers advertise their openings.
Their station is simple: their current employees are the frequency used to refer potential candidates for the position which likely lessens the risks involved in a new hire.
In discussing this strategy with someone who does it, I understand their reasoning and logic:
1. Our new hire is referred by someone we value and know.
2. By seeking the candidate from an internal search, we minimize the public response to an opening which could be overwhelming (think hundreds of responses to one opening).
3. We are likely to retain the person because they were referred by someone who knows our culture.
4. We have more success this way since jobseekers have become adept at interviewing but poor at the actual job.
Re-read #4. That is the major reason employers are emphasizing new hires from current staff. A decision-maker of one organization told me that this strategy has reduced turnover and saved money.
If you respond to an opening you see on the Internet or anywhere else it is a REACTIVE mode. That means you are in a battle for attention with many others. Your struggle becomes one of how to differentiate yourself from the pack.
If you hear of an opening from a contact, friend, colleague, etc. that works for the company you have an intentional opportunity to get an interview. The likelihood of your success is much, much higher.
All of this to say you must consider the following strategies for a successful job hunt:
1. Get out of your house and mingle every single day with people through lunches, coffee, networking events and opportunities for interaction. Don't let one day go by without seeing other people in some way.
2. Limit the time you spend to only 15% of your day on the computer. The rest of it should be spent with others in some capacity. Think creatively on ways to interact and be seen.
3. Volunteer your time to your community. Build a house with Habitat, tutor a child at school, walk the dogs at the animal shelter and help in any way possible.
4. Always follow up. It is one of the most critical tasks you will do in the search. It shows you are serious.
Tune in to where the employers are or you will have a very long search in front of you. As long as it is their market, they have dibs on being tight with their choices. The difference for you will be what steps you take to land on their radar. The best and most effective way is for their employee to recommend you for an interview. The other alternative plays music you might not want to hear.
Imagine you are driving in the car and listening to your favorite radio station. It plays the music genre you prefer and it is the only station you listen to on a drive. But, is it the only station out there?
People treat seeking employment the same way. They tune in to their most preferred genre of finding and applying for jobs in one of the following ways:
Job boards
Newpaper ads
Trade journal openings
Online web crawlers like Indeed or Simply Hired.
The stark reality is that employers have veered away from most (but not all) of the above and are on another frequency. You can tell this by job seeker frustration:
"I've applied online to 99 jobs this week alone and haven't heard back from one."
"I keep seeing the same job posted every week in a recycled fashion. Why are they not interviewing me?"
As a jobseeker, you have to crank it up a notch and migrate to the station where employers advertise their openings.
Their station is simple: their current employees are the frequency used to refer potential candidates for the position which likely lessens the risks involved in a new hire.
In discussing this strategy with someone who does it, I understand their reasoning and logic:
1. Our new hire is referred by someone we value and know.
2. By seeking the candidate from an internal search, we minimize the public response to an opening which could be overwhelming (think hundreds of responses to one opening).
3. We are likely to retain the person because they were referred by someone who knows our culture.
4. We have more success this way since jobseekers have become adept at interviewing but poor at the actual job.
Re-read #4. That is the major reason employers are emphasizing new hires from current staff. A decision-maker of one organization told me that this strategy has reduced turnover and saved money.
If you respond to an opening you see on the Internet or anywhere else it is a REACTIVE mode. That means you are in a battle for attention with many others. Your struggle becomes one of how to differentiate yourself from the pack.
If you hear of an opening from a contact, friend, colleague, etc. that works for the company you have an intentional opportunity to get an interview. The likelihood of your success is much, much higher.
All of this to say you must consider the following strategies for a successful job hunt:
1. Get out of your house and mingle every single day with people through lunches, coffee, networking events and opportunities for interaction. Don't let one day go by without seeing other people in some way.
2. Limit the time you spend to only 15% of your day on the computer. The rest of it should be spent with others in some capacity. Think creatively on ways to interact and be seen.
3. Volunteer your time to your community. Build a house with Habitat, tutor a child at school, walk the dogs at the animal shelter and help in any way possible.
4. Always follow up. It is one of the most critical tasks you will do in the search. It shows you are serious.
Tune in to where the employers are or you will have a very long search in front of you. As long as it is their market, they have dibs on being tight with their choices. The difference for you will be what steps you take to land on their radar. The best and most effective way is for their employee to recommend you for an interview. The other alternative plays music you might not want to hear.
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, im a freelancer writer, this blog
helps me a lot and give some vital information
because i had a website freelancerfortunes.com
Job Centre
thanks again