My friend Liz described leaving a bad job for uncertainty while looking for a new position, as “Changing Deckchairs on the Titanic” – an apt analogy in these frightful economic times. Of course, there are ways to minimize the risk when working to get a job… and I will go through some of the various strategies and tactics here.
First, remember that getting a job, whether you have one already or not, is work in and of itself. Plan your time. You will want to approach this in a structured and organized manner.
Keep track of the time and materials you spend on job searching. This will allow you to make a good determination of the value of others services in this area… in other words, if it takes you three hours to review jobs against your qualifications to make a choice of which ones to send your resume to, and you can get a recruiter or sourcer to do that for you – you have economized your time.
Get some practice in talking about your qualifications - even if it is just in front of a mirror. Remember to make note of special accomplishments that you may want to mention to a recruiter or hiring manager. Make a list of the companies you are interested in working for, and a list of people you know who already work there (or know someone who does). Your most likely entrance to a company will be through networking. Practice saying to people that you meet “Hi I am (your name); I do (your profession) and I am currently looking for a job – would you happen to know of something that is opening up?”.
Don’t be afraid to call the HR department of companies you are interested in and asking if they have any openings…most likely they will direct you to their web pages, and ask you to apply online. Get the name of the person you spoke with on the phone, and send them a note of thanks for “helping” you, after you submit your resume on line.
Check the job boards on line, and the unemployment job boards and the newspaper. Remember that if a job sounds familiar, it could be the same position. Keep track of where you have submitted your resume, so that if a recruiter asks you if you have been submitted you can tell them. Many companies will not consider you if you have already been submitted by someone else, or if you applied directly. Because in those cases, the Hiring Company will not pay the recruiter, so understand that they are doing their job when asking you if you have been submitted before.
If you get an interview with a hiring manager through a recruiter – ALWAYS get the full name of the person interviewing you and if possible their email address. ALWAYS send a thank you note to the person who interviewed you, and if you want the job, say so. Send a thank you email to the recruiter who arranged it. And communicate with the recruiter… don’t just say “it went well” – give details, what kind of questions were asked, how you answered…and again if you want the job, tell the recruiter “I think they like me, and I want this job”.
Don’t just send your resume without a cover letter. Cover letters are your “special commercial” to tell them where you heard about the position and why you think you are the right person for the job. And if they are looking for specific skills, make sure that you reflect those in your resume. And yes, that means you may have to have several iterations of your resume, each one focused on specific skills you have that match a job description.
And don’t say you can do something that you can’t – with technology today, it is very simple to check on your background and to get references that are not on your resume!
