Finding A Job In An Impossible Job Market
Posted by Shawn on April 1, 2009
Watch the news. Read the paper. Layoffs. Cutbacks. Unemployment. 1,000 today. 3,000 yesterday. 21,000 tomorrow.
In December my “position was eliminated” and I have joined the ranks of the unemployed. Instead of being the one watching from the sidelines I am on the playing field in my own Super Bowl, trying to beat the competition.
There are jobs available, plenty of them, but the playing field has multitudes of players far greater than the number of vacancies. To get one of the jobs you have to be qualified, show up at just the right time, have the right skills and experience, and have a great deal of luck.
The most difficult task is to stay motivated no matter how bad things will get. Get motivated right away but pace yourself, because the race may be very short but it can also be very long. It is a marathon that may end after 2 miles or may go far beyond 26 miles. You won’t know where the finish line is until you hit it.
Here are my tricks for staying motivated and finding a job during these difficult times:
1. Think like the employer
Even if you have never hired anyone, think of what you would do if you had to hire someone. How would you choose? You might plow through 10,000 resumes to find the needle in the haystack, or you might ask around to see if anyone you work with or hang out with might know someone who would be good for the job. I am more likely to call the plumber my neighbor recommends than to randomly pick one from the phone book. The more you network the better your changes are to be that person your friend or neighbor recommends.
2 Call and talk to people
It is so easy to email, email, text, email. Instead of just replying on email, use the phone. If you hear about a job at a company that sounds interesting call around and ask about it. You may learn whether it is worth even applying, and if it is your name will already be known. If that call gets your resume pulled out from the massive pile and looked at just think of how much further ahead you are.
3. Send thank you notes to everyone who helps you
Thank you emails are easy. Hand-written thank you notes are a pain. Take the painful way out. The last person who took the time to write a personalized thank you note I hired. It shows that you will go the extra mile, an excellent trait a hiring manager is looking for as a skill.
4. Be a sales person
If a sales person does not close the deal and make the sale, the company suffers. It does not matter how many sales calls are made; what is important is what is sold. You are the sales person and you are the product. Don’t tell yourself that you are lousy at sales. If you are not good at sales learn how to become better. Some salesman and saleswoman are hundreds of times better than others. You can always get better so learn from the pros.
5. Do the networking thing
Attend a job transition group, read an article on job hunting, read a book on finding your next great opportunity and you will hear the same thing - grow your network. Read item 1 above again; If you are a known (via networking) your odds are much better than the unknown. Become a known.
6. Read
There are plenty of good books and articles on job hunting available. Read them and apply them. You will learn little tricks that can give you a competitive advantage over the other candidates. To win any race you only need to beat your opponent by a fraction of a second. If you can get the equivalent of that fraction of second from a book or article you may very well end up beating your competition and getting that job.
7. Widen your range of options
I have talked to way too many people who have fixed in their heads the only job they will take and the bare minimum salary they will take. Months go by where they miss opportunities because of this stubbornness. Eventually they land somewhere, but often after they finally decide to take less. Widen your range of options now. You may end up gaining new expertise which combined with your old expertise makes you even more valuable in the market.
8. Help others
Keep your eyes and ears open for others as well. If you hear about a good opportunity that might fit someone else you know but not you, pass the information on. You will be amazed that the more you help others, the more things come back to you.
9. Relax your mind
Take time out to relax. Work hard on your job search, then relax. You cannot be job searching 24×7 and keep your sanity. Put together a plan and stick with it.
10. Use the web but don’t rely solely on it
Finding job openings on the web if a piece of cake. You can post your resume, click to apply for a position, automatically track what positions you have applied to, receive daily emails with new positions that match your criteria, and set up automated email alerts. The problem is that everyone else competing for the same position is doing the same. Use the web to find jobs, but then take the time to find contacts at the company and work through them. Most employers are much more willing to look at a candidate referred by an employee then to take a chance on the content in a resume.
Remember the old saying: “The harder you work the luckier you get”.
