So You Want the Job Offer ............eh?
All the employment fundamentals continue their aftershocks of the 2009 Global Recession. Some have called this time Economic QuickSand and I am sadly beginning to agree with them.
All is not lost however. There are still some timeless techniques that can help you step out ahead of the competition even when there are hundreds of others emailing their resumes.
First, get a grip on the reality. It's a crowded job hunting market out there. Even for local jobs at just above minimum wage, there can be dozens of competitors applying for every opening. The better paying or jobs with highly coveted employers, when they do get advertised might get hundreds of responses and the employer has to sort through all the letters, resumes and autoresponses sent out by some of these career advisory services. Most employers can spot the resumes that are sent out on auto pilot however and most, if not all get rejected as non personalized unless the skill set needed is highly specialized and key words are used. So the advice I want to give you today is not for the rocket scientist...but for the everyday people who would like to work as part of a team, in an office or with a not for profit organization or government. Get proactive...and get on your walking shoes too!
Tap into the Hidden Job Market! Ask your friends for leads, referrals and introductions. The Hidden Job Market is alive and well. It's just that, hidden, those job leads or openings are rarely found on craig's list or in the newspapers or on other job boards. In the Hidden Job Market most jobs never get advertised.....they get filled by friends and friends of friends. That's where YOU'd like to get your warm job leads and introductions.....before the opening hits the internet!
Cultivate your "Pro-personal" Network (professional contacts you are integrating into your personal network) Having a large personal network of folks who have experience working with you is a real asset. That asset can be turned into one of your secret weapons in your job search tool kit. Today it seems that almost all business environments are looking more and more like the model of the entertainment industry where people survive from gig to gig!
We can't really fight this trend. And Hollywood has been surviving, some even thriving, in that type of "what have you done lately" environment for decades. It's tough...and definitely survival of the fittest but it works... just ask any working actor or celebrity today!
Your Good Will and last performance have a great deal to do with getting called back in the future.
This is a such a tough job market, that it will help you if you understand that the fruit will only go to the "survivors" of the smarter, swifter job hunters!
Job Banks, One Stops and recruiters will help all they can but you will have to take matters into your own hands....and into your own shoe leather!
Go and meet the employers and ASK FOR THE JOB IN PERSON. This time tested method has worked for hundreds of years. It is working in local neighborhoods today and it used to be the ONLY way people got jobs in years past.
YOUR part is to be relentless in following up on job leads and to meet as many people as YOU possibly can in person. They say “possession” is 9/10th of the law…and I have definitely seen people who show up getting the jobs.
It got me to offer someone a job just a few weeks ago..and it got me job offers decades ago.... so it is still a proven way to get employment.
So go meet with that person you called or emailed about the job you are dogging down. That might be a real long shot, but you just never know. S/he is probably buried in emails and people who want to get noticed, all who want a job. YOU GO THERE if you can..... and you show them that you can make it easy for them to hire YOU..... Perhaps s/he could use your skill set..... and s/he will gladly stop the hunt and accept YOUR OFFER to help. Try it.... it still works!
Patty DeDominic
Santa Barbara and Los Angeles based Coach for High Achieving professionals and organizations.
http://www.dedominic.com/
http://www.thenewnewworldofwork.com/
ps... if you would like a copy of the book shown above, Harry Says, Boss Talk Without the Warm Fuzzies, please write to me at patty@dedominic.com and put Harry says in the subject line. We will be happy to mail a copy to you in the USA for free if you ask for it before March 30, 2010. One book per person please as my supplies are limited. THX!
1 comment:
It is amazing how effective it is to just make contact with someone. I have been employed for the last 9 years, and I have not ONCE turned in a resume or cover letter. I just contacted people with whom I had some previous experience, told them why I wanted the job, and I got it. I know this won't always work, but it is very doable. It is so much easier to just send in a piece of paper and hope for the best instead of breaking down the barriers of timidity and going after what you want.
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