Get the Job You Want, NOW!

The last thing you want to hear when you have been on an extended job search is more advice. “You should do …” seldom works, especially since the person who is giving the advice has never been in your shoes, nor experienced this type of job market. You know the figures. You know the unemployment rate. You know how discouraging it is to be in transition for months.

 But, did you ever consider that in a new economy, such as this, new strategies and new tactics must be used in order to get the interviews that lead to job offers?

 Before I begin to describe the process that I have used to help others, I want to address the traditional method, the one designed for the industrial age and the one that is being used to keep you from getting interviews and the right job.

 Most persons in transition follow the Elements of Traditional Job Change, as listed below. Most use only a few of the 30 different steps. (This like having a toolbox and only using two or three tools.) Using all 30 will multiply your effectiveness. But, as I implied above, in this rapidly changing and indeed greatly changed economy, the traditional steps don’t always work and there is a better, faster way.

 Time for some background about the current job change environment and the not-too-obvious reasons why it is so hard to get an interview. :  (Hint: the system is designed to keep the undesirable out!) These 9 obstacles are briefly addressed a little bit later.

1. Not all job openings are advertised. As a matter of fact, less than 20% are.
2. Most business owners, and the managers who work for them are either afraid to hire for numerous reasons (see Employers Afraid to Hire www.clhassociates.com) or they are stuck in the old resume rut.
3. Most potential employers are so busy with problems for which they have no solutions that they don’t have the time or creative resources to resolve these problems. (This as a GREAT OPPORTUNITY for you if you are a problem solver.)
4. Most employers don’t know how to hire effectively so they rely upon Voodoo hiring methods (read Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street) that begin with dusting off an old job description and adding requirements.
5. Automation has made millions of jobs irrelevant. (Read The End of Work by Jeremy Rifkin and JobShift by William Bridges) Technology is not your friend because the purpose of technology is to eliminate work. But, there are strategies to get around that.
6. Outsourcing and off-shoring have sent millions of labor intensive jobs overseas. (The reindustrialization of America will require some hard choices on the part of enlightened legislative leaders.)
7. When the economy goes down, decision making goes up. Spending decisions (and hiring is a spending decision) move to higher levels during a economic downturn. This is putting an increasing burden on overworked decision-makers.
8. Your resume is not your friend. No matter how good it is it is used by HR departments to keep you from getting interviews for advertised job openings.
9. Telephone interviews are done by professionals who work hard to keep you from meeting a hiring decision-maker.

 For those of you who have been reading with interest, each of these nine (and there are many more) obstacles to your job search can be overcome if addressed creatively. Here are some immediate suggestions:

1. Look to the hidden job market.
2. Find opportunities in the worries and fears of existing businesses and their executives and management teams.
3. Understand their problems and offer helpful solutions. (Yes, I know you are busy with your own problems, like paying the mortgage or keeping the kids in school.) But, as motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says, “You can get whatever you want if you help enough other people get what they want.” Creating or transporting problem solutions from your former job or field is one easy way of helping overburdened hiring managers. 
4. This is the reason why there is such an avid dependency on the part of hiring managers and C-level executives on hiring from referrals in their network. They may not get the best person for the job, but at least the person comes to them through a trusted recommendation. Be where they are looking.
5. Technology has eliminated manual, repetitive, and non-creative jobs. So, be creative, bring creativity and innovation to a prospective employer. Make them an offer they can’t refuse.
6. Once again- apply creativity to the manufacturing process. While cheap labor overseas can mass produce products, is there a need for finishing of their mass production? Are there creative after-market processes – training, support, etc. – that can be done?
7. Since decision-making goes up and I’ve already said that hiring managers are too busy to handle the problems that are confronting them on a daily basis, what makes you think they are going to take the time to read your resume? Approach them differently. Don’t sent a resume. Only submit one after an interview. (Don’t worry, this entire process is about getting interviews and I’ll show you how.)
8. In most larger firms (and nearly all executive search firms) your resume is scanned by a computer that looks for and stores key words that determine if a person is going to read your resume. Then, if it passes this test, it goes to someone in human resources to see if they want to take the risk to interview you on the phone. If you don’t have a resume that clears this hurdle, then you can wait by the phone forever. If you do have a stellar resume, the best you can hope for in most instances is a telephone interview. Don’t sent a resume.  
9. Do you know what questions to expect during a telephone interview? Will you be prepared to answer those questions at any hour of the day, wherever they may happen to call you? Have you given them the right type of contact information?

 All this being said, it is time to look at the ELEMENTS OF TRADITIONAL JOB CHANGE  to see if you have done them all in your previous job-search efforts. If not, perhaps any one of them may be the key that opens the door. If you have questions about any of the traditional strategies please contact me at chansen@clhassociates.com. I’ll be glad to respond to your inquiry.

Have you taken all these traditional job-search steps?

1. Write Résumé
2. Search Want Ads
3. Cold Calls – Door to Door
4. Mass Mailings
5. Search Government Listings/Agencies
6. Apply Directly at Personnel Offices Without Job Opening Notification
7. Avail Yourself of Career Development Centers
8. Employment Agencies
9. Executive Recruiters
10. Internet/Web-based Services
11. Referrals
12. Networking
13. Informational Interviewing – Use Your Contacts
14. Internal Campaigning
15. Internships
16. Volunteering
17. Targeted Mailings and Telephoning
18. Positioning
19. Basic Job Tips
20. Know Yourself – Evaluate your interests, values, skills, needs, and goals before conducting your search.
21. Develop Transferable Skills
22. Make Yourself Marketable (Back to School)
23. Talk to People in Your Career Field of Interest
24. Research
25. Watch for Spot Opportunities
26. Select A Career Field That Interests You
27. Record Your Contacts with Employers
28. Develop Effective Job Hunting Tools
29. Conduct a Creative, Effective Job Search and Keep Persevering

 While I sincerely hope these 30 elements of traditional job change will help you get the job you want, if you’ve been in transition for some time, then you have probably used them and you’ve discovered the need for a new and better way. This is the reason I have formulated creative approach strategies for job change.

 In over 20 years of assisting people create businesses and change jobs, I have found what works. I have read hundreds of books, thousands of articles, and worked with many hundreds of individuals while developing this simplified approach that works.

 Since this article is already running a bit long, all I will present you with at the moment are the three basic elements of creative job change. They are:

1. Know and take ownership of your talents and strengths.
2. Target and understand the field(s) of your greatest interests.
3. Develop your own unique marketing approach that addresses the needs of your targeted field.

 It’s that simple. But, it isn’t easy. And, we’ll begin to work on each of the three elements in my next article.