See if this sounds like your job search.
You were fired. Well actually it was a reduction in
workforce but it feels like being fired. They said it was not your performance,
after all you received a good performance rating the last time, but they let
you go so it must be performance related.
You updated your resume with the most recent position and
started applying online only to hear NOTHING! NOTHING! Seriously? You know that
you can do the job but companies are not even giving you the courtesy of a reply.
You modified your resume to match the job description before
you apply. You asked people to review your resume and you changed it based upon
their feedback. Then you met someone else who suggested changing it another way
or changing it back to the way you had it. It doesn’t matter because neither
way is yielding results. You don’t even know which way is correct.
You researched and memorized the good interview answers like
what to say when asked your strengths and weaknesses.
Looking online there are very few positions available so you
start to get concerned that companies are not hiring.
You start to wonder if it is your age or something else
about you and start considering lower level jobs. And maybe you even tried for
lower level jobs and were not successful.
Maybe you were lucky enough to have an interview but could
not get the company to see your value regardless of how you stressed you could
do the job.
Does that sound like your job search?
What would you be willing to do to be successful in your
search? You probably say “anything” and I’m going to challenge that. Too many
job seekers are not successful, not because they are too old or don’t have
value, it is because they are doing the job search the wrong way. I bet though
that too many job seekers reading this will not change what they are doing.
They are the hamster on the wheel – they will work hard at it but are not going
anywhere.
Don’t just update your resume or change the formatting
without concern for the content. Only 10% of resumes make it passed the keyword
software that resumes go through to filter candidates. Formatting is important
but resume reviewers only comment on format and do not address content. And
when all candidates use the same job description to tailor their resume, all
the resumes sound the same. As a recruiter said once “they ring hollow”.
Instead: create your resume based
upon a sample set of job descriptions for the single type of job you are
pursuing to be sure you are emphasizing the right skills, highlighting the
relevant experience, and using the right keywords.
Don’t just rely on applying online. Only 15% of all of the
job available today are posted online. When you limit your search to jobs
posted online, you are leaving 85% of them out of consideration.
Instead: develop a job search
strategy that utilizes all of the approaches but proportional to their success
rate. Know the tips and logic behind them, to be better at each approach.
Example: did you know you have to repost your resume to job boards every 3
weeks?
Don’t give the researched or pat answers to interview
questions. When you do, you are not standing out as a candidate, in fact you sound
like everyone else.
Instead: know what your real
individual strengths are by taking an assessment. Know the stories of your past
successes so the interviewer convinces themselves that you can do the job.
As they say: you will keep getting what you have been
getting if you keep doing what you have been done – which is probably not what
you want. If you really want to get off the hamster wheel and get a job you
WANT, then partner with a job search coach who knows the right way to conduct a
job search. Meet with them for an hour first to find out about their services
and to get to know their approach. Be sure they address all areas of the job
search, not just one area like the resume.
It is not you! You have just been doing the job search the
wrong way. The job search is not intuitive so get advice from someone who can
help.
For more information about RightChanges services and super
specials through Dec 1, go to www.RightChanges.biz
Judi Adams
The Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach
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