|
[ Resume Writing ] [ Job Search Process ] [ Career Counseling ]
The Job Search Process
Easy Ways To Improve Your Success
Objective
In a world full of uncontrollable factors, why leave controllable ones
to chance on a topic as important as your job search? How and what you
communicate can make THE difference in your job search. There are MANY easy ways
to improve your success in getting your message across and finding the right
job.
To start, job searches should be approached with great planning and energy,
just like building a house or developing a selling strategy for a major new
account. Job searches are a job – take them seriously, and take accountability
for your career. Your job success is YOUR responsibility.
Section 1: Know What You Want – And Tell Everyone
In the book What Color Is My Parachute, Richard Bolles states that 80%
of any job search is figuring out what you want to do. He is right, and if you
know this:
- YOU know where to look and spend your time
efficiently
- A recruiter, colleague, or friend knows how to help
you
A. How do you find your interests?
A smart person once told me we tend to be good at the things we like doing.
This person made me list the 3 things I had done in the past year at work that I
had enjoyed the most, which matched up perfectly with his 3 things he felt I had
done best.
Exercise:
 | List the 3 specific things you’ve done professionally that you enjoyed the
most. They could be:
 | a project you worked on |
| an account you won |
| a group of people you were with |
| an unreachable goal you achieved |
| a responsibility you thrived on |
| some/all of the above |
|
Outline what you were doing when you did them. Write a few sentences for
each.
| Questions to address when you write them:
| Was the process or the outcome the most
enjoyable |
| What was the environment – were you alone? Team? HQ? Field |
| What was the result of each? Who/how was your achievement recognized? |
| How did your action differ from expectations? |
| What elements are common across experiences? |
| What did you do to prepare for them? |
|
B. Be Specific about what you want
The more specific you can be about what you want, the better, and don’t
feel this will restrict your opportunities. Start with your resume objective,
which can be important and helpful if it tells the reader something. Don’t
think of it as a chore – think about what makes you happy. Examples of
interests to include in your objective are:
| Good
People Management
The widget industry
Promotion opportunity
The
Midwest
Business to
business
Selling to large accounts
Outside
sales |
Weak
A challenge
A stable company
Lots of money
Anywhere
A product I can believe in
Fully
utilize my skills
A creative environment |
It's not that the "weak" interests aren’t true or valid, it’s
that they’re obvious and don’t give the listener any information. For
example, can you imagine someone saying they DON’T want a challenge? That they
don’t want more money?
Exercise:
| Write a 1 sentence career objective. Try to make it include:
| Type of business or industry |
| Any geographic desire |
| Level of responsibility |
|
Good Objectives:
| Sales management for a business to business company in the Southeast or
Southwest |
| A National/Strategic account sales position in the industrial services
industry in the Eastern US |
| Executive level sales leadership position in packaged goods |
Weak Objectives
| A chance to fully utilize my creativity with a progressive, stable company |
| Anything over two sentences |
| Anything that focuses on qualitative desires |
When you’re done writing it, ask yourself:
- Think of a
company you’d like to work for - would it apply to them?
- Would it
rule out a place you wouldn’t like to work?
- Does it
give the reader new information, or could it apply to anyone?
C. What are your skills and assets?
From this process you will be able to see patterns – situations you enjoy
being in and are good at. From here you want to pull out specific transferable
skills and assets you could bring to a new employer. Examples of these are
broken into 3 categories.
Exercise:
| For the items listed below:
- circle all the ones that apply to you
- fill in other not listed here you feel appropriate |
Category 1 - Management
| Managed people |
Managed more than 10 people |
Managed managers |
| Managed a branch location |
Managed more than 50 people |
Managed a call center |
| Managed outside sales people |
Managed brokers/distributors |
Managed teams |
| Managed inside sales people |
Managed customer service |
Managed National Accounts |
| Other:______________________________________________________________________ |
Category 2 – Skills (examples)
| Cold calling |
IT/Windows proficiency |
IT/advanced programming |
| Presenting in board rooms |
P&L Mgt. |
Cost reduction |
| Customer service |
CRM |
Category Management |
| TQM/Quality Process |
Process Mgt. |
B2B |
| Direct Mail |
E-commerce |
Merger/acquisition |
| International |
Training |
Bilingual |
| Channel Mgt. |
New product startup |
Consulting |
| Recruiting |
Presenting |
|
| Other:
____________________________________________________________________ |
Category 3 - Industries
| Industries worked in |
Industries called on |
Contacts/leads |
| Business systems worked in |
Business systems called on |
|
Think outside the box in terms of transferable skills for industries,
for a moment. Imagine a company like Frito Lay as an example. If you worked
there, you could count them as transferable skills for:
| route distribution (business system) |
| grocery (customers dealt with) |
| snack foods (competitive framework) |
| consumer package goods (consumer) |
For a more detailed process for determining these issues, read What Color
Is My Parachute by Richard Bolles, published by xx Publishing. I strongly
recommend you invest the time in yourself by going through his process.
Section 2: Who to Communicate With
For salespeople, the job
search process is easy to understand. It is just like selling - it
involves:
|
activity (putting yourself in the right place – often) |
| account/funnel management – having prospects at all stages of the
sales cycle, and learning the decision making process for each. |
| presentation – interviewing, and understanding the decision making
process within the company prospect
|
A. Activity - networking for results
1. Personal Contacts - Your Greatest Asset
Exercise
|
List 200 people you know, have dealt with, or are associated with that might
help your search. These people could be:
|
| Co-workers |
Fellow alumni |
| Customers |
Competitors |
| Vendors |
Neighbors |
| Associations |
Friends of friends |
Once again think outside the box. The man that works at the bakery in town
may not have a job for you, but one of his fellow Chamber of Commerce members
might.
2. Recruiters – Personal Agents
Recruiters are a great source of jobs and advice, and provide a great
"marketing" source within a company. Particularly if they have an
ongoing relationship with their client they can highlight you and your resume
far greater than a blind resume submission can. Some keys on working with
recruiters:
| find someone you trust, and who will spend time with you |
| look for recruiters who specialize in your field |
| sell them – their opinion weighs heavily with their clients |
3. Internet – expanding your reach
There are tons of job search sites out there, and no one has time to look at
them all. The internet can be one more effective way of communicating, and when
doing so keep a few things in mind:
| pick a few sites and focus on them. Factors to examine are traffic, area
of specialty, and size of database. |
| If you post your resume on any site, assume the whole world knows |
| Don’t apply to every job listed – it is a waste of your time and the
readers |
| Responding to posted ads is more reliable than simply posting |
4. Your own list of target companies
Do research on things that interest you and come up with a list of 30-50
companies you would like to work for. Once you have that:
| Check their web sites for job boards, and re-check weekly |
| Look for internal coaches – cross check your contact list for people who
could help pull you through or advise you. |
B. Account/Funnel Management
Just like any sales funnel, create a spreadsheet with your prospects and track
your progress. Keep a file on each to store research information and
communication records.
Sales is about activity – set up contact/activity plan with daily goals.
Every day/week should include targets for:
| cold calls – prospects |
| networking calls |
| follow ups |
| face to face contacts |
Learn the decision making process within the account. What role does HR play?
How many steps are there in the process? Who makes the final decision? When will
that decision be made?
C. Interviewing
Interviewing is the last and most stressful part of the search process. A few
key interviewing tips:
| Get practice – the first 2 interviews you do will be tough |
| Listen – don’t talk too much and ask lots of questions |
| Have a list of specific examples of what you have accomplished.
|
Section 3: How To Communicate – Easy Steps
Once you decide on what to communicate and to whom, below are some easy tips
on how to improve your odds of success. While many of these seem obvious, you
would be amazed at the number of examples we could produce of people forgetting
them!
A. Be available
The easier it is for someone to get in touch with you, the better your
chances are for success.
| Be around – don’t leave town for an extended time when you are
applying for a job |
| Get a cell phone you check several times a day, and make that your primary
contact point - it can always go with you |
| Have a professional message that only you check |
| Have a resume ready – like it or not they are necessary to get your foot
in the door, so be ready to take the next step |
B. Professional communications
| Primary communication – cell phone and e-mail
Phone interviews, however, should always be done from a
land line |
| Have a professional sounding e-mail address. Use your name if at all
possible, and make it easy to remember. |
Good
Bad
JohnSmith@xyz.com
yahoosusan@xyz.com"
Jsmith123@xyz.com
playboybunny@xyz.com
SmithSales@xyz.com
PitBullMe@xyz.com
JohnSmithNY@xyz.com
JohnSmith11298344762@xyz.com
If you laugh at the "bad" e-mail addresses, realize they are all
based on actual e-mails I have received with resumes attached.
| Use Microsoft Word formatted communications – don’t make it hard to
open your information. It is worth the investment to buy a common package
like Word.
| Fax as a last resort – they’re hard to read and become impossible
when re-faxed. |
| In an emergency, copy the text from your resume into the body of an
e-mail itself. CAUTION – make sure it formats correctly if you do this |
|
| Don’t have your family message machine take your messages. Singing
messages from kids are adorable but not good for job related situations. |
| Don’t EVER let teenagers take important messages |
| Always say "let me check my calendar" when someone asks to set
an appointment – it gives you a stronger sense of purpose and
organization. Saying "any time is fine" comes across weak. |
| Treat even the gatekeepers with respect, and sell to them too |
| Save your resume under your name, not as "resume"
|
C. Follow up – news and value
| Express clear interest (if you have it) in actively pursuing the position |
| Ask for the next steps |
| Send your resume via e-mail, and follow up with a fax. It covers you in case
of electronic problems with either. Mail is a good option also. |
| Follow up with news or information – be persistent without pestering. Send
an news article with your follow up that relates to their company or industry
– it adds value to the reader and shows you hustle. |
| Respond to calls within the same day, even if your response is left after
hours (in fact a message pre or post working hours can show dedication). |
Section 4: Summary
Review the exercises you have just completed. You now have:
Section 1: List of interests
A new resume objective
Specific transferable skills inventory
Section 2: List of prospects
Activity plan
Sample interview questions
Section 3: Dedicated cell phone
Professional e-mail address
Check list of important rules to follow
Congratulations – you are now well ahead of the vast majority of job
seekers and are on your way to success!
|
