Approximately 9.1% of people are out of work in the US as of the July 31st Dept of Labor. Unemployment is still the highest it has been since the Great Depression which if you are on the line is a seriously depressing prospect. Most of you know that there are resources in your community you can turn to to help in your search and if you are tech savvy there are so many resources online that it can be rather overwhelming.
These unsettling facts are disturbing enough our economy has transitioned into a service industry just as promised during the 90’s. Unfortunately the mad push to become a service based economy has left us in a situation that 90% of these service related jobs have now been outsourced to the same countries that we pushed our manufacturing jobs onto. The sad fact is in the US we really do not manufacture anything these days because we have made it cost prohibitive. This über-competative job market is sadly one of our own creation.
In order to make any inroads employment hunting methodologies of the past are no longer enough. I am sure you’ve all heard the experts say you’ve got to individually tailor your resume to each job by researching the company. Others have jumped on the Social Media bandwagon as if it is a magick bullet to all of your job search ills. Still others parrot “Network, you gotta network your way into a new job.”
The problem with experts is that they are not the ones looking for the jobs, therefore; most do not have anymore of a clue than you do about what will work.
- Custom tailored resumes only work for positions where you know the company before hand
- It is too easy for companies to list themselves as confidential or hide behind an industry recruiter
- Social media is only a portion of your search plan and requires some genuine work to be successful
- Networking is fantastic as long as you are following a plan and working at it
- Recruiters work for the company with the vacancy not the searcher
- Fractured resume databases there are far too many different online resume hosting solutions
The first step is to draft a search plan. You need to make an honest assessment of your goals and formulate a consistent direction of your energy. If you follow every piece of advice you read online you will be stretched in too many different direction spinning your wheels without much hope of success. Consider the following planning steps:
- Define you target job- decide now what you will do and what you will not pick an avenue for your career to advance
- Define the target companies- Establish the size and composition of the company you would like to work for
- Update you resume with these concept in mind- you should identify your achievements that highlight the skills necessary to perform in this new job
- Setup a profile on LinkedIn– It is essential to build a positive online presence – Think of this as you online resume
- Turn on Facebook privacy settings because you do not want your personal life to inadvertently overflow onto the internet
- Sign up for a Twitter account- Many recruiters post listings in their tweet stream and you want to ensure that you follow them
- Review and adjust your plan accordingly throughout your search
- Maintain a list of all the jobs you’ve applied include the date and a copy of the original listing- This is important for following on your submission as well as to refresh your memory during phone interviews
- If you already have establish social media accounts ask your friends to be references for you.
- Remember to send the appropriate ‘Thank you’ messages
The thing about the social internet is that it is about interaction and relationship building. It’s less about broadcasting your agenda and more about listening to others. You can not tweet your way into a new job so to speak but you can use social media as an extension of your networking effort. Think about the following and how it make you feel;
“Just lost my job please help me find a new one…”
You may laugh but I have read numerous status updates like the one above. You are much better off asking for specific advice from your stream. Consider how you feel reading an status message like this one;
“I am looking for resources about starting a new job search in the IT field. Does anyone know any good sites?”
I don’t know about you but I feel compelled to help this person out. I feel like they are interested in doing the work necessary to find their next job in lieu of the first person who just wants one handed to them. This person is the one that I am more likely to check in with and ask how things are going from time to time. They laid a foundation for subsequent interaction. This person sounds respectful and like she is not about to waste my time or advice.
Another thing is to build your LinkedIn network. You need to start off by adding the connections that will add value to your search. Start by adding the former colleagues with whom you’ve maintained communication long after you left those work places. Consider adding former employers where you left on good terms. Definitely add recruiters and ‘OPEN’ connectors with caution. If you have had your LinkedIn account for a few years and your profile is fairly complete then add as many people as you can but if you are just starting off then move slow.
You want to build up your professional profile as well. Complete all of the areas that you can on your LinkedIn profile remembering the golden rule “Keep it positive!’ Once you have a fairly robust profile reach out to your connections and ask for recommendations. This is a nice way to inform people that you are considering searching for a new job. It is also a stealthy way of doing it if you do not wish to tip of the current employer. Favorable recommendations are an important facet of your professional profile and ANY employer that takes issue with you receiving one recommendation should be flogged.
Ultimately the key thing to remember is when you are searching for a job you don’t want to waste your time on bad leads so don’t waste other people’s time by adopting bad search habits.
- Be polite
- Be respectful
- Be honest
- Be sincere
- Be genuine
Amazingly these simple concepts work in the social internet realm exactly like they do in the real world. I know that some times it is easy to forget that there is a human being on the other end of the application. Sooner or later you are going to have to interact with them. Most likely when you do it will be in an interview setting and more than anything they want you to develop a relationship with them. They want to ensure that you are a decent hard working individual who will fit in with their company. Are you a true team player? However if you are going to continue with the same old advice you have to ask your self, “Do you feel lucky… Punk? Well Do you?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mikel King has been a leader in the Information Technology Services field for over 20 years. He is currently the CEO of Olivent Technologies, a professional creative services partnership in NY. Additionally he is currently serving as the Secretary of the BSD Certification group as well as a Senior Editor for the BSD News Network and JAFDIP.
Related articles
- Job-hunting? Facebook, LinkedIn and You – Six Social Media Tips by Kerry Hannon Forbes Contributor (wcntransmedia.wordpress.com)
- Be Positive and Get a Job Faster (money.usnews.com)
- Do not follow me… Interact with me (jafdip.com)
