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Top 10 Successful Job Hunt Techniques [INFOGRAPHIC]

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You need 10 successful job hunting and job search techniques if you want to secure a job interview. Searching for a job can be a stressful experience fraught with uncertainty. Job seeking and career changing is different for very candidate and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Some people are able to secure a new job in no time, while others seem to struggle just to get one interview. Only dogged determination, positive thinking and smart strategies will take you where want to go. Employers are looking for much more before they even consider you for a position. Some people just seem to have a gift for this sort of thing, while you’re sitting here getting nowhere. Read more

Stop Dreaming! If you want a new Job in 2015

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Welcome and Happy New Year! Are you dreaming of getting a new job in 2015? Someone once said to me in my career that people who have dreams have goals. I agree, but if you dream too much and have your head in the clouds, then you will never get anywhere. I suggest you get real and let go of some or all of these typical job hunter dreams. Get them out of your head if you want to get a job in 2015.

If you want to get a job in 2015, I suggest you get real and let go of some or all of these typical job hunter dreams: get them out of your head now!

Dream # 1 The most qualified candidate gets the job. 

Seriously, when did you last apply that practice in your own world? Get real. For realistic people this is simply not how it works. I know, because I hear this at least 20 times each week and it is pretty clear to me that it’s hard for so many job hunters to let go of this dream. If you can manage to think differently about finding work and accept that it really means that you have to get a job and do a job, and that they are two different things, then you will get interviews and jobs.

Dream # 2 They will read all of the data in my resume. 

There’s only one definition of a good resume—it’s the one that gets you the interview. The vast majority of submitted resumes have evolved into ‘data dumps’ and in doing so, what’s been lost to the is the time tested value of telling your story. It’s the story, not the data, that engages the reader and communicates your value. Get it wrong and the reader will not consider you. Facts, figures and numbers, only matter when they form part of a larger story.

Dream # 3 Just work harder. 

This is probably the most evil and most common of all the job hunter dreams, because it can lead to blaming the victim. Not a single week goes by when I don’t read or discover yet another encouragement from self-professed recruiting experts, who tell job hunters to “just work harder.”  This unspoken judgment that hard work is all that separates the employed from the jobless is absolute nonsense. Never mind the irrational system we have in place for connecting people and jobs. Never mind luck, chance, connections, age, sex, race, disability, experience or sometimes even talent. Just work harder. Simplistic solutions like ‘work harder’ can feel good because they create the perception that the problem is solved. But it’s not. The dream remains. What you really need to do is search and apply smarter, not harder. That’s how you get job interviews. Call me if you want to know more; simply follow my blog or contact me during our Pro Bono Friday sessions or attend our seminars.

Dream # 4  Network, Network, Network till it comes out of your ears. 

Ask any job hunter or hiring manager what networking means and you’ll get a different answer each time. The word ‘networking’ has become so overused, that it has started to lose its real meaning for so many job hunters. To them, it actually means NOTHING because no one has an outright answer. Networking isn’t everything and it certainly is not wrong; it’s just not enough. And when it’s put forth as ‘the answer’ it becomes a dream. What’s worse is that it becomes a focus on the wrong thing. Networking is not the magic key to a new job.

Oh, and while we are on that subject, just knowing someone, or knowing someone who knows someone, will not get you a job either. You need to do much more than just ‘know someone’. This is probably the weirdest and hardest job hunter dream to challenge or even to dispute because sometimes it’s true! But more often than not it’s really just a start, especially if the connection is only online or simply weak. What’s weak? For starters, so many LinkedIn users believe that networking via their mouse clicks is a connection or a lead to a new job. Need I say more?

What’s even more important than knowing someone via a few mouse clicks or Facebook connection tabs, is actually being a part of something.

Being an active, visible and regular contributor to a community—any community— is real networking. Because it’s from these communities that the genuine connections required to find work are found. You have to put something in to get something out. A mere endorsement or a commentary post in a LinkedIn group does not make you a valuable networker.

Dream # 5  Be honest. 

We are all for honesty. The problem is the job hunters who confuse including EVERYTHING in their application versus simply including what matters. No small task. And it means something different to every individual. Most job ads are short and simple. So many jobs today are very narrowly focused. That means that the focus in your application has got to be on what matters, NOT on telling your life story. I just looked at another 8 page resume. I am not kidding. 8 pages?!

Telling what matters is what counts. Bottom line? Instead of a focus on being honest and including everything, change the focus to reading and LISTENING and speaking to what’s needed and what matters the most. Less is More!

Dream # 6  Go to LinkedIn and you will get a job. Yeah—dream on!

It is like saying, “Google Translate will solve your language problem.” Get real—LinkedIn is a database. As one of many tools, it might help you find work. But it’s a database, not a magic online kingdom. There are at least 10 alternative sites who do more for you depending on your industry and job search segment.

Dream # 7 Job Boards will do the work for you.  

There are lots of published speculations on the percentage of time job board’s lead to jobs and they range from 5-15%. Is that really true? Maybe. Maybe not. What’s consistent is that the numbers are never more than 20%. What is larger than 20%? The dream that online job boards will do the work for you. Approximately 70% of all job hunters focus their job search energy on online job boards hunting for less than 30% of the actual job opportunities.

Dream No. 8 You just need to get past the Gatekeeper. 

Yep—the gatekeeper used to be the receptionist or the protective ‘HR guy’; nowadays the first gatekeeper can be resume parsing systems and software. The idea is the same. The dream that if you could just get  past something, or someone, is a silly idea. Wake up. Job hunting is about doing things smarter—not harder—and with consistency.

If you want to get a job in 2015, get your head out of the clouds, focus on what really matters and remember to hunt wisely!

TheJobSearchCoach

Uli

Passion is Bullshit

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My client Michael Z believed that Passion is Bullshit – and I agreed. Apologies upfront. I know, closing the blogging year with such a controversial headline might not be suitable for everyone. My business partner and I just met in the office to clean up old emails, discuss strategy and prepare for the New Year. We had just finished, opened a beer reflected on our most memorable client of the year. Here is my story of my Most Memorable Client of 2014.

In early November of this year, Michael Z – name changed – was referred to me for 1on1 job search coaching because our Booking Coordinator, Susan, thought he would be a hard case to service. What was Michael’s problem? Simply put, he had lost his mojo — he kept telling himself that he had lost his passion for the job.

Michael had been unemployed since May 2014 when he was made redundant from his position as Customer Service Manager for a big Australian retailer and things had been going downhill since then.

I met with him for a 45 minute skype session and a short while later for a second personal 1on1 session in our Melbourne office. I realised right after the first session that Susan was right with her first assessment. Michael was really feeling down. He truly had lost his energy and his belief in anything he ever thought had made his work life special. He had lost his passion.

He kept referring to his “loss of passion” at the start, during and the end of nearly everything he explained to me and, no matter what angle I took to engage Michael in a different kind of mindset, our sessions went nowhere. He was convinced that he had become unemployable.

So I agreed with Michael that Passion is Bullshit and told him to give up.

I am not kidding. Why should I tell you to think differently if all you want to hear is that Passion is Bullshit?  Because Michael was right! He was stunned, since he obviously expected something else for his booking fee.

We shook hands and I offered to refund his fee but only if he did one last thing before he gave up. All I wanted him to do was to read a book by Scott Adams and call me when he was finished and if he still felt like giving up, I would fully refund his booking fees.

The Book is titled: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

Yep—I am not kidding, it occasionally helps to refer clients to other specialists. It worked, Michael is fine now.

It took him 4 days to finish the book and only another 3 weeks to secure a job interview and find a new job. Nothing has changed. Michael still believes that Passion is largely Bullshit—but Michael has learned that it is he who has to deal with the truth. His problem was not job search related. His problem was, loss of faith, believe and mojo. Not Passion.

So if you are stuck with this type of problem, don’t give up—there is a job for you out there, just try to deal with the truth. Try the book – it is brilliant and fun to read, very uplifting and so true. If you are stuck with job search matters contact us.

Have a great NYE celebration, be safe and Look Out for your friends and family and when you go back to the job hunt in 2015 always remember to hunt wisely!

Your Job Search Coach

Uli

Is Your Application a Relic or Still Relevant?

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Questions about the cover letter. Books, magazines, products, movies and even people are judged by ‘how they present themselves’ at first sight. The experience of first impressions essentially all boils down to “Do You Matter?” That’s why books and magazines rely on covers, products rely on packaging, movies rely on banners and posters, and people or (job hunters) on cover letters.

Call it old fashioned or not, there are still tonnes of people who still need the cover letter to assess if you matter or whether you are wasting their time or not. I know this is a harsh introduction, but would you have read on if my headline was all nice and easy?

Our team at TJSC have helped over 700 job hunters this year to get job interviews and secure a new job and there was not a single successful submission without a cover letter. Nearly every job ad we see either requests a resume AND cover letter or leaves space in the online submission portion to include one.

We know that you are no more interested in writing the cover letter than employers are about reading it. So why do employers ask for a cover letter if they’re likely not going to look at it?

Here is what tends to happen behind the scenes:

Reason #1 Automated Processes

The request for cover letters in job ads is rarely a specific decision made for each individual job ad. For the most part, Hiring Managers / HR departments and recruiters don’t write the request or requirement for a cover letter manually into ads. Most job sites are designed to make writing job ads as easy and fast as possible. This is simply translated as automation.

Most of the text you see in a job ad is templated, via pre-set text blocks and defaults. The focus in job ads is on key requirements and responsibilities. But, there is also one of these template defaults in the automated process known as the request for cover letters.

Who are these people who determine if these default checkboxes are checked… or not?

I can give you two of the most common causes and they are all made outside of HR departments. It is mainly IT staffers (or consultants) that coordinate the integration of job sites with the company’s HR software. Yes, I’m not kidding. This decision is often made by 3rd parties (recruiters included) who are not even employees of the hiring company because they like to play safe – “just in case HR wants it…” So, as you can see this isn’t some useless conspiracy against you. Whether you like it or not, you don’t have a choice if that box is ticked. Make sure your cover letter matters or you will end up in the trash.

Reason #2 The Need for Differentiators

The other common explanation of why employers ask for cover letters but often don’t even use them is the need for differentiation. Hiring Managers or recruiters want a point of differentiation which highlights ‘why you matter’. They obtain a glimpse into your book via your resume and they wish to verify or judge you by your cover. Get it?

So why do they need a differentiator?

The world of HR and job searching is constantly evolving and changing (e.g. laws, technology, job markets) but there’s one thing which is continually changing faster than anything else: the explosion of applicants. The main reason for that is the copy – paste –shotgun approach to applications. When the numbers of incoming applications explode, things change and it is this change that forces the requirement for a differentiator. The cover letter is your 1st differentiator.

HR professionals have to protect their most valuable asset when searching for a suitable candidate – their time. 10 seconds is all you get. Pass that short window of 10 seconds and they look at your ‘book cover’ to ensure they don’t waste their time further. They also don’t like to get egg on their face when they proceed to call you in for an interview and so they judge you by your cover letter and use the information to check you out further.

Hiring professionals are a bit like shoppers in a book shop as they’ll seek differentiators when viewing book covers and titles. It’s the same with your application. Your cover letter is your book cover. It’s your 1st marketing piece.

You can tell anyone anything, but you have to provide an example to demonstrate why they should believe your claims. So if you write a cover letter…

Demonstrate What Every Employer Wants to Know

Most employers care about the following three things above all else:

  1. You’re smart.
  2. You’ll get things done.
  3. You’ll fit in well with their key requirements and corporate culture.

Before you sign and send your cover letter, do your best to ensure those three things are evident. Again, you don’t ever want to actually say them, but you want your reader to think them when they’ve finished reading your letter.

You can do the usual copy – paste – shotgun approach or you can submit what’s expected of you. You get judged by your cover whether you like it or not, so don’t waste the opportunity and remember to hunt wisely!

Uli