networking

Frustrated with your job search?

in How-to,Job loss,Job search,JobPounce,Tools

As our coaches work with Jobpounce participants and interact with many aspirants, majority of the people are grappling with a serious ailment.

It would be easy to call it frustration but I think it has a lot more to it. Let’s review it a bit more closely.

Cause and effect

Most people put in a lot of effort to polish their resume and send it to their friends, or post it online or use job websites to respond to opportunities that have been posted
And then they wait for a response…maybe an email, maybe a phone call
Most of the time, there’s no response. And that gets job seekers even more determined to send out resumes and cover letters to a wider audience – the thought process being to spread the net a bit more wider to get a bigger catch
And when they still don’t hear back, frustration starts to creep in. And it’s not just because of the lack of response from HR or recruiters, it is because of the amount of effort that has already been put in with very little results. It is sunk cost…all that time and effort…we can never get it back

What to do?

Our recommendation is to change the way you look for jobs:

Define your market and focus on what the employers in that market are looking for. Because it’s about what is in demand and what the requirements are. One good question to research is “why is this employer hiring for this position at this time?”. The answer to this question will give you clues and will help you align with the opportunity
Connect with your personal and professional network. And remember that that current and past employers of people within your network are also your extended network.
Celebrate even the smallest of milestones you achieve…it could be a phone call with a counselor, or a new job lead or an introduction to a recruiter.
Keep your exercise routine up, its amazing how much physical well being can contribute to positive thoughts and inspired action
Don’t stress, even thought reports say that 10% of the population is unemployed, understand that 90% of the population is still employed It is just a matter of time before you are back to work.

What would be some other ways to reduce job search frustration?

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Job Search Handbook Part I: Allies for your job search

in How-to,The Job Search Handbook

Starting today, we are publishing Job Search Handbook – a guide to finding your next job.

Here’s Part I in this series.

Allies for your job search

One of the first steps towards finding your next job is to make a list of the people that will be your allies in this process:

Current and Past Employers

This one’s a no-brainer. Your current employer and past employers are excellent sources of reference for you work and also they can point you to people in their professional network that might be hiring.

Friends and relatives

Your personal network can be a powerful ally in your quest since their level of commitment to your success is very high. One more tip to boost this network – get them to introduce you to their current and past employers. There. You just tripled your connections

Headhunters, recruiters and executive search firms

These are the people that can exponentially increase your chances of getting a job. Here’s how to work with them:

more on target market in a later chapter

Introduce yourself to them and ask for a time with them either in person or over the phone
Spend at least 20 minutes providing them a walkthrough of who you are, what is your target market, and what do you bring to the table. This will ensure that the other person has a very clear understanding of what you are looking for
Create an agreement that no resume will be sent out without your prior consent
Develop a summary or a tombstone that is specific for this headhunter / exec search firm
Keep in touch with them regularly over email and develop a warm relationship. Go beyond just a dry email. Get them a cup of coffee before your next meeting or even better, buy lunch.
Ask for frequent feedback and check in weekly with them to see which companies have they been talking to about you.

Google is your friend

As you might know, every blog posting you create, every word in your LinkedIn profile, every comment that you write on online forums – all that is slurped up by Google only to show up in search results when people Google. We’ll cover ‘Job Search Setup’ in a later chapter that will help you to develop content that enables recruiters to find you when they use Google.

Social Networks

We continue to be raving fans of LinkedIn and Facebook – leverage their capabilities to network with the right people and communities. LinkedIn Groups is a great tool to find network within a set of communities, you can use LinkedIn Answers to establish your eminence and your can display recommendations to enhance your credibility.
My friend Jason Alba has created a great resource to use this effectively.

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