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We had an awesome session during my first Tele-seminar ‘5 reasons your job hunt is failing and 10 things what you can do about it today’ last Wednesday and many participants got new ideas to plan and action.
The 10 strategies I shared are practical, proactive and if applied can help you to manage those areas that affect your job hunt which you might not even have realized affect your job prospects.
Just having a resume is no longer good enough. Rising above the noise of other applicants is.
Job Hunting has changed such a lot!
I remember, way back in 1985 when I first entered the job market, job hunting was very different. One responded to vacancy advertisements, wrote lots of letters to companies with one’s resume and prayed that we had hit the bulls-eye.
Sometimes walk-in interviews were the best way to get a job. Most of us did not know about executive search firms unless we were told about them by some well meaning family friend.
Referrals for job openings played an important role because milk rounds only took place on professional campuses for engineers and MBAs. The rest of us had to fend for ourselves.
Getting into a Big 4 accounting firm, which was then the Big 8 for training as a Chartered Accountant, was a Herculean task. It required contacts and many times depended more on your background and family connections than your potential or merit.
Times have changed and the rules for getting the attention of the headhunter or prospective employer keep evolving with technology advancements. Things have become easier and at the same time, harder.
I selected the topic because, of late, I have been receiving CVs from friends, former colleagues and LinkedIn connections across the board asking for assistance in getting a job because their own efforts are not yielding results.
I’ve been asked questions on Quora about how to get a job or why the person is not receiving an interview invitation.
Submitting your resume to reputed and trusted executive search firms or headhunters is part of the solution but finding the right job depends upon your actions and initiatives.
In this post, I’m sharing one reason why job hunts fail and 8 places to look for jobs.
You are applying the strategy of waiting in your job hunt
This is a passive job hunt strategy based on waiting either on a job to be posted OR for a response from the recruiter or prospective employer at different stages of the job hunt.
This could be after submitting the resume to a job posting, after a phone screen or from the recruiter or hiring manager after an interview.
The waiting strategy is justified with the excuse that the job hunter does not want to be seen as too forward or a nuisance. But guess what? If you play the game of waiting instead of being proactive, you will not land any job or find it very difficult to find one.
An important fact that I picked up from a Forbes article, is that on an average, 118 people apply for any 1 job that is posted and only 20% of these applicants get called for the job interview.
(Update 14 June 2020: According to the Glassdoor HR and Recruiting Stats for 2019, for 1 job opening, only 2% of applicants will be called in for an interview)
Statistics often depend upon the sample chosen and survey methods used but it is a fact that when a position is announced, there will be lots of applicants for it.
Just check out a job announcement on LinkedIn or any job portal. If you find images and the words hot, know that there is competition for the opening.
So waiting is not a good strategy. In fact, waiting is NOT a strategy! Being proactive and taking responsibility for your job search is.
Stay Top of Mind of the Recruiter
Staying top of mind of the recruiter or HR professional is key to getting your resume through the door. Here is what you can do instead.
The important point is to follow up and there is information on the process in my blog post ‘Do you follow up’.
Busting the 80% jobs not posted myth
Another excuse to justify waiting is that the job seeker reads somewhere that 80% of jobs are never posted and they don’t try to think outside the box for finding open positions.
I am going to challenge this 80% myth because jobs are posted on platforms that do not comply with the strict definition of posting, which is paid advertising. There are many jobs publicly available for viewing that is not PAID for. Here are 8 places to get you started.
Now that I have pointed out the unicorn, here are 2 things you can try instead.
Strategy 3: Be more proactive and broaden your search by looking at the 8 places that I mentioned.
Strategy 4: Referrals are more important than you can imagine in securing a job interview invite. Be proactive by finding referrals within your network for companies that hire people with your skills and ask for introductions or referrals.
That was just the tip of the Job Hunt Iceberg, how would you like to create your own Job Hunt Blueprint?
How would you like to stop using the waiting strategy and wasting time reaching out to companies that will not hire you?
How would you like to apply for relevant jobs and improve your chances of getting invited for the job interview?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a strategic plan to direct your job hunt rather than the method of ‘Submit CV and pray for the best?
You don’t have to torture or embarrass yourself by talking to friends or head hunters asking for ‘a job’ or searching online portals and blindly submitting your CV just to keep your spirits up knowing in your heart that you are not going to get a response.
Having a focused and well-targeted job hunt plan can take away a lot of that pain and the worries that keep you awake at night.
What if you could learn a step by step system (that works!) that could help you save time in your job hunt and get you noticed by the right people? What if it could help you improve the probability that you will get a response from the headhunter or HR professional of a company where you have put in your application?
That is priceless!
Your Karmic ally job hunt options
I go through this and more with my clients who enroll in the Career Coaching Program and have a career change or job hunt as an issue.
I’ve also got a package for the DIY professional who needs a bit of tweaking of actions in their job search strategy. Learn more about Job Search Success: Find your Hidden Professional Opportunities by clicking the preceding blue link or the image below. A new window will open to show you the information.
I’ve also included bonuses that will ensure you play your A Game to land that dream job.
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Great blog Vatsala! I was a recruiter before and my wife is still a recruiter, so I agree with your points! Definitely be proactive is the key. You don’t know when your opportunity is coming so always be open minded. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the compliment Kaz and the ultimate endorsement of my tips for job seekers in this post.
While I am no longer in need of a job hunting strategy, BOY OH BOY do I wish I had run into your blog back when I was really struggling.
I feel that I found my current job sort of by accident – and that I am VERY lucky! I love your blog and all the advice you offer, Vatsala!
Thank you for the compliment Coach Natalie. Sometimes when we are destined to do something different, the Universe pushes us in that direction and in this case, it is your current job. Sincere job hunting without getting results is painful.
Fantastic tips Vatsala! I really enjoyed the list of 8 places to search. Now that there is social media it is so much easier to connect and find your ideal job 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Finding jobs that are not paid advertisements is easier Joan. Social media recruitment is a double edged sword though. It can help you connect with the decision makers but it also means that we have to be careful that our social media activity does not give the wrong impression to recruiters and prospective employers. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Great tips which will work just as well if you are looking for new clients especially the “8 Places”. I remember when I was in management and would interview prospective staff and some were very professional, knowledgeable and you could tell they did some homework before the interview on the company. Then you have the ones that had no interest just wanted a pay cheque.
Thank you Joe for reaffirming the blog post suggestions. The 8 places work well for job seekers and businesses. The candidates who just want the pay cheque usually don’t get the job offer and even if they do, they don’t stay for long. Showing an interest in the prospective employer’s business is a key indicator that the candidate is serious about the opening and professional.
I like how you presented that the impact of social media changed the environments we operate these days so much. Now you can find out about a new job posting from a tweet and a Facebook update.
So important (if you really want a job) to stay connected and flexible in your approach so you can be successful.
Absolutely, Delia. Keeping up to date with recruitment trends is important. Especially social media recruitment which is playing an even bigger role in executive searches as it helps the recruiter do a screening for all the things that are outside the resume but which can prove important in hiring the right candidate.
Great tips Vatsala. It’s important to follow up with all applications / interviews. That’s just one way for employers want to see how you’ll interact in a business setting. Thanks for including the 8 places to search – social channels give job seekers lots of opportunities to connect with prospective employers.
Absolutely, Deb. This is a way to show the prospective employer that you are serious about your candidature and that you are proactive in following up on projects. I’m glad you liked the 8 other places to find jobs. Many job seekers don’t even realize that there is more to job hunting than headhunters, newspaper ads and online job portals.
I had 1 job out of college and it was a perfect fit. Moved through different positions, got amazing free education and training and loved almost all my duties. What mattered most to me was knowing I made a difference in the lives of those I served. they were the people you are talking about Vatsala. And this blog is so on target, then and now. People are too passive in job search and it is harder for those who are shy, never had to job search, feel wronged and so on. Your blogs always get my mind going on my former 30 years as a career counselor.
Thank you Roslyn. Your personal career experience continues to serve a new generation of job seekers by validating the tips and guidance I endeavor to share at my blog.
In thinking back to most of the jobs I have had, I have actually found them on my own, or been recommended by someone else who knew me. Even my first job out of university, I knew I wanted to work in Marketing Research and I bypassed all the job placements that the university had for us to consider, and applied directly to a company I knew I wanted to work for. They hired me! In today’s world, I imagine the more proactive you are, the better your chances of getting a job you really want are. Today’s world is all about networking and networking again, so that seems to be an encouraging way to find a good fit for yourself. Thanks for your tips on making sure not to disappear into the masses and to make yourself stand out and be noticed. Great tips as always Vatsala!
I have a similar job hunting experience, Beverley, where with 1 exception, none of my other various positions were sourced via a headhunter or executive search firm. Reputation management was key for me and my source was referrals and the magical ‘resume falling on the right desk’ or being at the right place at the right time. Social media recruitment and online job boards came much later. The job hunt market has changed and while things are in many ways easier, they are also tougher because many professionals don’t know how to use these tools effectively. That’s where my new Group Coaching Program helps.
Some great tips in here for anyone that’s job hunting. A lot of these types can also be applied if you are a solopreneur.
Absolutely, Gisele. It is the same process and strategy to make sure a potential client does not forget you and keeps you top of mind. I’m glad you enjoyed the tips.
As a retired career counselor I often ran into this issue. Unemployed individuals have so much emotional upset over job loss, they need the expert guidance to create a strategy, keep them moving. Love your 8 other places to job hunt. The marketplace sure has changed.
I agree with you Roslyn. We spend so much time in the workplace that quite often we end up identifying ourselves with our job rather than treating it as a means to support our other interests. That is one reason why the job loss hurts and until we are able to overcome the grief of losing the job, we cannot take positive action. It helps to have an outsider throw perspective on the situation and help come up with a strategy to get the professional back into a proactive job search mode. The marketplace has indeed changed.