Career Advice Podcasts & Job Seeker Network
BREAKING NEWS! What’s the #1 Impediment to Any Job Search?
ANSWER:
The Job Seeker
Ouch. I know it’s exactly what job seekers don’t want to hear, right? Instead you want to believe that you are doing all the right things, that you have invested your time and resources wisely. Instead you want to hear that the reason you haven’t landed a position is because we are in tough economic times, that the holidays are approaching, and that the recruiter or resume writer you have been working with hasn’t lived up to the hype.
Yes, it’s true that we are in tough economic times, and yes, it is also true that the holidays do slow things down a bit. And of course recruiters and resume writers play a significant role in the job search process.
But who’s guiding this ship anyway? The economy, the time of year, the recruiter, the resume writer, or you?
Well, if you want to be successful, it better be you! And you better have a game plan.
Listen, the job search process is nothing more than a sales negotiation. So start thinking of it like one…
• Identify market strengths/weaknesses and develop a strategy for using them to your advantage.
• Know how much time you have and where to spend it.
• Key in on a niche market. The more focused, the better.
• Follow-up and follow-through. Many job opportunities are lost for this very reason.
• STOP spending so much time on the Internet and get out there!
And whatever you do, stop feeling sorry for yourself! So when you hear yourself blaming the economy or the government or whatever else seems to be in the way, stop it!
The sales rep who goes around feeling sorry for themselves or spews forth bitterness is seldom successful.
My company, No Stone Unturned, has spent years guiding job seekers through the swampland, and there is only one obstacle that we have found that we cannot overcome: the job seeker’s inability to take control of his or her search.
We have wrestled through job search coaching sessions. We have tried desperately to get people to follow our No-Nonsense Job Search Strategy approach (because we know it works!). But for some reason, job seekers like to think that if they just throw their resume out there, talk to a recruiter or two, or make a call here and there, then they can just sit back and wait for something to happen.
I seriously hope that people are not performing like this on their jobs!
Ask any sales person or small business owner. We wouldn’t have much success if we just waited for the opportunities to roll in. A phone call, a resume posting, a conversation with a recruiter…those are all good starts, but they are hardly much of a job search.
Do you know that most job seekers don’t even know how much time they have to devote each week, much less each day to a search?
Yet when that 40-day mark hits and they still don’t have an offer, what do job seekers do? They start blaming everyone else.
C’mon! Cut that out. Let us help you get that plan going and keep with it. Let us help you set the proper expectations. And let us teach you what you really need to know about recruiters and headhunters and resume writers. Contact us today!
Get armed. Get ready. And go!
The Job Seeker
Ouch. I know it’s exactly what job seekers don’t want to hear, right? Instead you want to believe that you are doing all the right things, that you have invested your time and resources wisely. Instead you want to hear that the reason you haven’t landed a position is because we are in tough economic times, that the holidays are approaching, and that the recruiter or resume writer you have been working with hasn’t lived up to the hype.
Yes, it’s true that we are in tough economic times, and yes, it is also true that the holidays do slow things down a bit. And of course recruiters and resume writers play a significant role in the job search process.
But who’s guiding this ship anyway? The economy, the time of year, the recruiter, the resume writer, or you?
Well, if you want to be successful, it better be you! And you better have a game plan.
Listen, the job search process is nothing more than a sales negotiation. So start thinking of it like one…
• Identify market strengths/weaknesses and develop a strategy for using them to your advantage.
• Know how much time you have and where to spend it.
• Key in on a niche market. The more focused, the better.
• Follow-up and follow-through. Many job opportunities are lost for this very reason.
• STOP spending so much time on the Internet and get out there!
And whatever you do, stop feeling sorry for yourself! So when you hear yourself blaming the economy or the government or whatever else seems to be in the way, stop it!
The sales rep who goes around feeling sorry for themselves or spews forth bitterness is seldom successful.
My company, No Stone Unturned, has spent years guiding job seekers through the swampland, and there is only one obstacle that we have found that we cannot overcome: the job seeker’s inability to take control of his or her search.
We have wrestled through job search coaching sessions. We have tried desperately to get people to follow our No-Nonsense Job Search Strategy approach (because we know it works!). But for some reason, job seekers like to think that if they just throw their resume out there, talk to a recruiter or two, or make a call here and there, then they can just sit back and wait for something to happen.
I seriously hope that people are not performing like this on their jobs!
Ask any sales person or small business owner. We wouldn’t have much success if we just waited for the opportunities to roll in. A phone call, a resume posting, a conversation with a recruiter…those are all good starts, but they are hardly much of a job search.
Do you know that most job seekers don’t even know how much time they have to devote each week, much less each day to a search?
Yet when that 40-day mark hits and they still don’t have an offer, what do job seekers do? They start blaming everyone else.
C’mon! Cut that out. Let us help you get that plan going and keep with it. Let us help you set the proper expectations. And let us teach you what you really need to know about recruiters and headhunters and resume writers. Contact us today!
Get armed. Get ready. And go!
Comment
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Comment by Steve Van Vreede on November 12, 2008 at 4:38pm - Will, "Spray and pray"...I love it...what an accurate description!
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Comment by Will Robinson on November 12, 2008 at 2:51pm -
Steve, I think the problem with most people in their job-searches is in their search-process, or lack thereof. What is the 'job search-process?' Where do you start? How do you measure progress and how do you 'manage' the process?
Many, many people I have spoken with have a rather 'vague' idea of the job process. If you ask them to describe it to you, most would say:
1) write a resume and cover letter
2) post it on all the major job-boards
3) search the listings of the job-boards
I call this the 'spray and pray' approach (spray your resume to as many outlets as possible and prey that someone notices it).
Of course, most will also say that 'networking is good' but ask them how it is integrated with their search-process and most won't know what you mean. Without process it is very hard to perform an efficient job-search. It's like trying to navigate the streets of Boston. You may be lucky and get to where you are going but you will be 'more lucky' if you bring a map.
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