Job Search 101

Using robust and multiple job search strategies will make all the difference in how long you look for a new job, especially if you are unemployed.

The third step in the Critical Path to Career Management is “Mastering Your Skills”.  These skills actually fall into 3 different categories; Career Management Skills (what the Critical Path is all about), Job Search Skills (taking control of your job search not not relying exclusively on recruiters) and the 4 Critical, Non Technical skills essential for every business person regardless of function.  

I will talk about the 4 Critical, Non Technical Skills in my next post, but today I’d like to talk about job search skills.

Many people, especially in Australia and New Zealand rely on recruiters to find them a job.  They believe that recruiters will act as their talent agents and simply sit back, letting others control their job search.Using robust and multiple job search strategies will make all the difference in how long you look for a new job, especially if you are unemployed.

This approach is extremely problematic! Why? Think about who actually pays recruiters? The client company. Their service is free to you, the candidate. This distinction is subtle, but very very important. Recruiters are paid to find talent to fill roles. They are not paid to find roles for candidates. The best recruiters do act as a quasi talent agent for the best candidates, certainly. But it’s a little known secret that even the best recruiters can only place 1 in 8 to 1 in 10 candidates. Many roles are filled through the company’s own network before they ever hit a recruiter’s desk.

Job search preparation

So, what other strategies can you use to find a new job? Plenty! But first need to develop a couple of tools.

The most important tool in this process is your “Value Statement”. This is your 30 second elevator pitch that not only helps you remember and articulate the value that you can add to a prospective employer, it changes your mindset from one of, “Please Mr. Employer give me a job” to “You are one of several people I’m talking to in the market place. I’m here to see if there is any synergy between what you are looking for and what I have to offer.” See my previous post on how to develop a Value Statement.

Incredible mind set shift and one that has led to more than one of my previous clients successfully finding work quickly after struggling for months (and in one case years).

The second tool you need is an achievement based resume. Statistics show that the best of resumes are only read for 15 seconds. Don’t take any chances with yours! Download my free resume format. I’ve had many many people tell me that they started getting calls for interviews within hours after submitting their resume using my format, even if they hadn’t been called for months previously. It works.

Job search strategies

So, you’ve got a great value statement and a killer resume. You’re now ready to go out and find your next job. What’s next?

Certainly, work with recruiters. Good ones are worth their weight in gold. But make sure they do never send your resume out without your prior permission.

But in addition to recruiters you need to be prepared to market yourself online, use your own network of contacts and approach companies directly.

Online marketing

I LOVE social media. It’s such a great tool! And you can use it to find your next job. If you’re not on Linkedin sign up today. It’s interviewing while you sleep. There are lots of resources available to help you set up a profile and make sure people find you. Google them. I’ve also got a free PDF with top level bullet points on the Career / Job Search Tools tab above.

But Linkedin isn’t the only online job search tool. Almost every job site has a resume database. Make sure your resume is online. There are also several independent resume databases coming online now. Google them and get listed.

Use Twitter. Here are a couple of really good articles on this:
http://www.loveforbiz.com/using-twitter-for-business-networking-and-even-finding-a-job
http://mashable.com/2009/03/13/twitter-jobs/
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903083,00.html

Take the direct approach

Make a target list of companies that you want to work for that have the types of roles that you want to do.

Monitor their websites regularly to look for open jobs and apply immediately.

• Make a list of absolutely everyone you know in your local area.
• Former supervisors
• Former subordinates
• Former Peers
• Former classmates
• Friends
• People from your church, child's school or other community organisations that you are involved in
• Acquaintances

Cross reference the two lists above. Who do you know that can make introductions to people within the companies on your target list? Develop a calling plan and start to contact them.

Call the other people on your list to find out who they might know that they can introduce you to who will help you find a job.

Network, network, network

Where do the hiring managers who hire for your roles hang out? Are there any groups or organisations that they may join? If so attend their meetings. Better yet, get involved in their organisations to develop deeper relationships with people of influence.

Treat finding a job like having a job

If you are unemployed it’s extremely important to have discipline around this area. Go to "work" every day; keep regular office hours, set aside some place in your house just for "work", dress like you're going to the office.

And finally, treat your job search like a project with KPI's; set a goal for a certain number of outbound phone calls, coffee catch ups, roles applied for, etc. Then manage yourself to achieve those goals and reward yourself when you do.

Order business cards with your contact details on one side and the types of jobs you are searching for on the other.

Keep mentally fit

And finally, keep mentally fit. You will project what you feel in an interview so make sure you feel great! One of the most fun and effective tools I use with my clients is to create an “I Rock!” file. A physical file of evidence reminding themselves that they do rock! Cards, notes, letters, or maybe just memories. All kept in once place and frequently referred to. It's actually my "Tool of the Week" this week.

If you follow these steps rigorously I guarantee that you won’t be unemployed for long.

Step 1 on the Critical Path: Set Your Course (How to determine your 3 - 5 year career plan)

In the 15 years that I was a recruiter I saw many talented and able individuals go from strength to strength in their careers.  People who successfully navigated their way to the Board Room, managed to build a brilliant career around their family life, or opted for a life of excitement, variety and travel, but never lost site of where they wanted to head professionally.  Unfortunately I saw many more, equally talented and able individuals plateau, or senselessly slide backwards as they neared their goals. 

I studied the differences between these two groups of people and I distinguished 4 things that the first group did differently than the second.  These 4 distinctions became the 4 steps on the Critical Path of Career Management.



The First Step: Set Your Course

Whether you are contemplating changing jobs, completely reinventing your career or you just want to ensure that you reach your goals without being sidetracked, the first and most important step on the Critical Path is to Set Your Course.

What do I mean by that?  I mean that it is imperative that you have a 3 - 5 year career plan. 

When I started in recruitment in 1994 I used to help my candidates figure out what job they wanted to retire from and then set their course for that job: realistically look at where they are now, and then ‘mind the gap’ between there and where they wanted to end up.  What jobs do they need to take as interim steps?  What skills and abilities do they need to master to get there?

Now, back in 1994 that advice may have been appropriate.  But in 2010, with all of the changes we are experiencing in market conditions, technology and globalisation, you cannot possibly know what job you want to retire from.  In fact, depending upon your age, it may not have been invented yet!

Does that give you license not to plan?  Absolutely not!  All this means is that the time frame just got shorter.  That’s why I now advise people to set their course for a 3 - 5 year time frame.  But it’s absolutely essential that you do know where you want to be in 3 - 5 years.  If you don’t, you may be tempted simply to walk through doors that are opened for you, without giving much thought to where they will ultimately take you.



The Destination is Far More Important than the Vehicle

Unfortunately most people begin with the wrong question when starting this process.  If they do any planning at all, most people start by trying to determine which job to take or career path to go down. 

I liken this to planning a holiday and spending most of your time to deciding whether you want to take a plane, a train or a car to get to your destination, as opposed to really thinking about whether that destination is really where you want to go!

Even though you can’t realistically plan your professional goals much past 3 - 5 years, you can certainly plan your lifestyle goals.  And these goals are what I refer to as your destination.  What do you want to create from your professional life?  How does your professional life fit into your personal life. 

So take a step back and ask bigger questions.

Questions like: 

• Do you want to get to the Board Room (i.e. reach the most senior levels of management or leadership)?  Do you want to manage your career around your family?  Do you want to be able to do different things, live and travel different places and fill your life with excitement and variety?
• Where do you want to live (country, city, split your time between countries or constantly be on the move?)
• Do you want to work virtually, be part of a team or both?
• What type of people do you want on your team?
• Are you more comfortable with a routine or set job description or do you want to have the freedom and responsibility of ‘making it up as you go’ as long as you achieve your KPI’s? 
• Do you want to work for someone else or be your own boss?  Or do you want the best of both worlds by having an autonomous role in an established firm, giving you the security of a regular paycheck?
• What are your ultimate monetary goals and how do you want to get there?
• How many hours per week do you want to work?  Or is that even an issue...if you’re doing what you love there’s really no reason to talk about work / life balance...it’s all part of the one.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to start you thinking about your own goals...what’s important to YOU?

And remember, these goals may change over time.  Your 3 - 5 year plan may be part 1 of an overall plan that will lead you towards your ultimate lifestyle.  Note here I say ultimate lifestyle and not ultimate job.

When I work with clients I use a tool that helps them really get to the heart of these questions.  It’s a deck of 52 Career Values Cards that help you determine what is really important to you professionally. 



Now for the Vehicles

Only after you’ve made some decisions about they lifestyle you want to create and what you want to achieve professionally is it appropriate to look at different options (or vehicles) that can get you to your destination. 

Now it’s time for another set of questions:

• Can you accomplish these goals doing the job you’re in currently?  Maybe with a few minor changes (working part-time or from home part or all of the week)?
• Could you achieve your outcomes by doing the same function in another company or industry?  And beware, the grass may NOT be greener.  The next article in this series will deal with finding your passion in your current job instead of continuously chasing windmills to find a job you can be passionate about.
• Or maybe, you do you need to look at other career options?

If you do need to look at changing jobs or careers drill down further and ask yourself:

• How do you want to spend your time in your job (be as specific as possible)? 
• What is your current expertise or training?
• Are you willing to retrain?  If so, how long do are you willing to spend?
• What jobs or careers intersect what you love doing and what your expertise is in (or will be in)?
• What kind of work do you want to do? 
• If you’re going to remain employed, what kind of company do you want to work for?  What do they do?  What are their values?  What is their culture like?
• What type of staff does this company have?  Who are their customers?
• How far is it away from home? 
• What hours do you want to work?
• What else is important to you?

Again, the Career Values Cards will answer a lot of these questions for you...but it really takes some brain storming.  At the end of this process you should come up with 3 - 5 options or vehicles (steps to take within your own company, jobs or careers) that you can use to meet your goals (reach your destination) that you can then choose between.

But How Do I Decide?

This process can take a lot of thought.  Do as much research as you can on the various options by talking to people within those jobs or companies.  Get a clear idea of what their lives are like on a day to day basis and then do your Decision Matrix.

What’s a Decision Matrix?  It looks a lot like a pros and cons list.  Each option has it’s own set of pros and cons but then goes 1 step further and assigns a value of 0 - 3 to each pro and 0 - (-3) for each con which correspond to your emotional charge on that item.  How strongly do you feel about each individual pro and con?  Then it becomes strictly a numerical exercise.  You add up all of your pros and subtract all of your cons and narrow down your options to 1 or 2.  Again, there is an example of this on my website that you can copy www.mycriticalpath.com/career-management-tools/.

Mind the Gap

If you’re going to stay in your present job great!  What skills, abilities and experience do you need to get you to your goal?  Find the gap and then mind the gap.

If you’re going to change jobs or careers that’s great too!  Now you’re finally ready to update that resume, hone your interview skills, dust off that network of contacts, make sure your online profile is robust and start hitting the phones and emails. 

At last you are ready to get into that vehicle and take it for a spin.